The proposal is not well thought out.
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research literature on political learning and childhood political socialization
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References please. It's simply not enough to state these things as fact without reference. In fact, I would say that in all my experience, the research literature in developmental psychology would suggest the exact opposite of the conclusions reached in this article.
The real issue at hand is one of mental maturity and competence. The issue of political power is secondary to that of mental maturity. There's a reason why there are statutory rape laws. There's a reason why children have legal guardians. There's a reason why children cannot be employed, why they can't open bank accounts, why they can't have credit cards. These are not separate issues. They all stem from the fact that children are children. There are very large neurological and psychological differences between children and adults. Puberty happens for a reason, and there are physiological differences between pre-pubescent and post-pubescent people. Children are not adults with small bodies.
Why 18? Because if it was 17, you'd ask "why 17"?
Like I said, there are differences between children and adults, and there must be a limit somewhere. Unlike driving a car, testing for political awarness is a bad idea. Not only is it unconstitutional, but is ripe for abuse (Think post civil war era South).