Former Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for an interview on “The Diary of a CEO” podcast this week, where she called for slashing the voting age down to 16. She linked the idea directly to what she described as rampant “climate anxiety” gripping Generation Z, painting a picture of young people paralyzed by dread over extreme weather and hesitant to start families.
“I think we should reduce the voting age to 16,” Harris said. “I’ll tell you why. Gen Z — their age is about 13 through 27. They’ve only known the climate crisis. They missed substantial parts of their education because of the pandemic. If they’re in high school or college, especially in college, it is very likely that whatever they’ve chosen as their major for study may not result in an affordable wage.”
She went on: “They’ve coined the term ‘climate anxiety’ to describe fear — not only of being unable to buy a home, but fear that it’ll be wiped out by extreme weather, and fear of having children.”
Harris argued that empowering 16-year-olds at the ballot box would force politicians to tackle issues like artificial intelligence’s role in jobs and affordable housing, areas she claimed hit the young hardest. “They are a specific generation of people who are going to impact our nation and the world,” she added. “I think we must invest in them, but I think they are rightly impatient with a lot of what is the tradition of leadership right now.”
This isn’t the first time Harris has floated the concept. Back in her 2019 presidential run, she expressed openness to discussions about lowering the age, framing it as a way to boost participation in a “more robust” electoral process. Yet her latest pitch arrives just months after her defeat in the 2024 election, where President Donald Trump secured a decisive victory with 312 electoral votes to her 226. With Trump back in the White House, her comments carry the whiff of a parting shot at the system that rejected her.
Skeptics point out that teenagers often lack the life experience needed for informed choices on complex policies. Research shows that citizens under 18 may not have the maturity or drive to engage effectively in elections, raising questions about whether they’re ready to weigh in on matters like national security or economic reform. One 16-year-old commentator even argued against the change, insisting the current age of 18 strikes the right balance.
Dig deeper, and a darker pattern emerges. For years, public schools have drilled alarmist climate narratives into impressionable minds, turning classrooms into echo chambers for globalist agendas that demand more government oversight, higher taxes, and restrictions on everyday freedoms—all under the guise of saving the planet. Harris’s proposal fits neatly into this scheme, potentially flooding the voter rolls with kids fresh from these indoctrination sessions, primed to support policies that chip away at individual rights and bolster elite control. It’s no coincidence that youth turnout could tilt elections toward those peddling endless “crises” as excuses for power grabs.
Harris wrapped up her case: “If they were able to vote — because they know everything that’s happening right now is going to impact them more than anybody older than them, for the most part — in terms of how these systems work. If they’re voting right now, at 16 and up, they’re going to be talking about the importance of climate. They’re going to be talking about the importance of figuring out how AI is going to affect the future of the workforce. They’re going to be focused on what we are really doing about affordable housing.”
Polls from before the election showed Harris enjoying strong backing among young voters on climate issues, with leads of up to 31 points over Trump in some surveys of those under 30. But turnout remains a wild card—many in that age group express support but skip the polls, leaving older, more reliable voters to decide outcomes. Lowering the bar to 16 might aim to change that, but it risks diluting the electorate with voices swayed more by hype than hard facts.
As America settles into Trump’s second term, ideas like this serve as a reminder of the divides that linger. While Harris laments teen despair over supposed climate doom, others see her push as just another attempt to reshape the rules when the game doesn’t go her way.
