Agree that for newbies, making meaningful comments that stimulate further discussions and thereby attract comment upvotes is the best way to start.
Votes are worth very little but still drain voting power. One solution is to use chainBB and their voting % slider, so newbies can still vote, especially to replies to their comments so that feels good without draining power that is needed in future.
In essence, newbies need other people's votes, not their own.
The newbies are very important to generate content and stimulate discussion. They are a vital component.