Being able to take a question that is hotly contested in public discourse and stripping it back to its bare bones to be able to arrive at a robust and logically sound conclusion is an ability necessary for success in all humanities disciplines. This Curious Minds article takes one of the more pertinent questions of our political age: “should we lower the voting age?”, to guide students on how to approach normative questions. This digest is relevant not only to those interested in politics, but all social sciences/ Humanities students.

For students applying for politics-related degree courses or simply with a mind for politics, it is valuable to have an understanding of US Politics, the principles and structure, as well as in comparison to the UK system. In this Curious Political Minds digest, we aim to stimulate a keen interest in US Politics using Allan Lichtman‘s book, The Keys to the White House (1981) as a centrepiece for an examination of a presidential candidate’s rise to power and how we can determine the outcome of presidential elections in the United States.