A Republican presidential candidate has a unique, and terrible, idea.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said last week that voting is not a universal right. Therefore, he wants to raise the voting age from 18 to 25 years old. Under his proposal, exceptions would exist for those who serve at least six months in the military or as a first responder. Otherwise, 18- to 24-year-olds would have to pass a U.S. naturalization test to vote.

That is a ridiculous idea with no shot of becoming law. Instead of trying to disenfranchise young people, some of whom are incredibly bright, married, or have children, Republicans should try appealing to them by offering policies that improve their lives.

Ramaswamy’s proposal is as unserious as Democrats who want to lower the voting age to 16 years old . Changing the voting age would require a constitutional amendment and a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress. Such a proposal would likely receive bipartisan opposition while angering the people it aims to disenfranchise.

It would also not fix the flaws of democracy. The uninformed masses would continue to fill in the bubbles to vote for people they have never heard of to perform jobs they do not understand. Many people would continue to make uninformed votes based on the R or D next to the candidate’s name. After all, many police officers, military members, and people 25 and older do not know the roles of positions such as governor’s council, register of probate, constable, or county commissioner. Nor could they name their local elected officials who serve in those respective roles if they live in a community where those positions exist.

So while Democrats got 61% of the 18- to 24-year-old vote in the 2022 midterm election, and Republicans got just 36%, according to a CNN exit poll , the party should try to improve that vote share.

Some notable concerns for voters in the 18 to 29 range, according to a Tufts University poll taken last year, include inflation and gas prices (41%), abortion and reproductive healthcare (29%), jobs that pay a living wage (25%), climate change (23%), gun violence prevention (19%), housing costs (19%), healthcare costs (17%), crime and safety (17%), racism (16%), student loan debt and college affordability (12%), and immigration (11%).

Based on those answers, Republicans should have opportunities to gain ground with young voters.

Federally, they could emphasize policies that reduce the demand for abortion , combat credentialism and occupational licensing , reduce higher education and healthcare costs , make homeownership more affordable , reduce gun deaths , and reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere without embracing climate alarmism. Additionally, they could make combating the opioid epidemic a priority as younger members of the public disproportionately suffer its overdose deaths.

If the Republicans did that, their vote share with younger people could grow. Trying to revoke their voting rights would do the opposite.

Tom Joyce ( @TomJoyceSports ) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.