{"id":4242,"date":"2023-07-07T14:07:18","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T19:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=4242"},"modified":"2023-07-07T14:07:19","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T19:07:19","slug":"teens-democrats-continue-push-to-lower-voting-age-to-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=4242","title":{"rendered":"Teens, Democrats continue push to lower voting age to 16"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20370%20247'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-39.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-image-4243\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"931\" height=\"523\" src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-39.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-39.png 931w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-39-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-39-770x433.png 770w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-39-293x165.png 293w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-39-390x219.png 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 931px) 100vw, 931px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Democrat-led movement to lower the voting age to 16 is gaining momentum as teenagers seek local victories while winning the support of some in the media.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Democrat-led movement to&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/voting\">lower the legal voting age<\/a>&nbsp;to 16 \u2014 or in some cases even younger \u2014 is gaining momentum as teenagers and other activists seek to score local victories while winning the support of some voices in the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The so-called \u201cVote 16\u201d campaign recently notched a victory in Vermont, where the Democrat-controlled state legislature last month overrode Republican Gov. Phil Scott\u2019s veto of a measure allowing 16-year-olds to vote in municipal elections and hold the highest elected offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Specifically, 16- and 17-year-olds can now vote in the southern Vermont town of Brattleboro. Young voters will be able not only to&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/state-and-local\/elections\">vote in local elections<\/a>&nbsp;but also to serve on the community\u2019s selectboard if elected. They can also be representatives to the town\u2019s annual town meeting, where local issues are decided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, a Democrat from Brattleboro, said last week that getting more young people to vote will help keep them politically involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVermont is an aging state and we\u2019re a state that really prides ourself on democracy and participation,\u201d said Kornheiser, according to the Associated Press. \u201cI think the more we can do to bring youth into that process so that they learn the skills and practice the skills of participation and politics with sort of a lower case \u2018p\u2019 the stronger our communities will be and the more I think folks will feel tied to their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Scott had vetoed the bill in late May, arguing in part that it would worsen inconsistencies in Vermont law on the age of adulthood<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI believe it is important to encourage young Vermonters to have an interest in issues affecting their schools, their communities, their state, and their country,\u201d he wrote in a letter to lawmakers. \u201cHowever, I do not support lowering the voting age in Brattleboro, nor lowering the age to run for Town office and sign contracts on behalf of taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Missouri, meanwhile, a statewide group is&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/state-and-local\">lobbying to lower the voting age<\/a>&nbsp;for local and school board elections to 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DJ Yearwood, the teenager leading the effort, recently launched the Vote16MO campaign, which advocates for Missouri lowering the voting age to 16. Vote16MO is working with Missouri lawmakers to introduce legislation in the next session. According to Yearwood, the bill has both a Republican and a Democratic sponsor, but he said he couldn\u2019t reveal them yet. He hopes to see a measure to lower the voting age measure on the ballot as a constitutional amendment in next year\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re asking 16-year-olds to take this government class and to do this one small unit on local government, and then save it for two years and apply it to their lives,\u201d Yearwood told St. Louis Public Radio in a recent interview. \u201cWe could be doing it right now, while it\u2019s intimate and impactful to them the most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yearwood also thinks lowering the voting age would help with teenagers\u2019 transition to adulthood and teach young people to approach politics without the influence of political parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn the current system, 18-year-olds are&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/state-and-local\/legislation\">launched into the political process<\/a>&nbsp;at all levels, all party politics,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have no chance to really digest what governance is [without] party politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yearwood argues that lowering the voting age would strengthen civic education and engagement and that not letting 16- and 17-year-olds vote amounts to \u201ctaxation without representation\u201d since teens can also work and pay taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Vote16MO\u2019s campaign doesn\u2019t have the support of Missouri\u2019s top election official, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat if a 14-year-old is working on the family farm earning money? Are we saying that they should be voting?\u201d he asked St. Louis Public Radio. \u201cI think it\u2019s reasonable to say we want you to be a little bit older, we want you to have a little bit more of the level of responsibility that other people have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond Missouri, the push to allow underage children to vote has prompted outcry and legal challenges from election experts opposed to the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is an extremely unwise push to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote,\u201d Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation told Fox News Digital. \u201cWe don\u2019t consider them to have the judgment and maturity to make important decisions, which is why they are not legally adults and can\u2019t sign contracts, lease an apartment, buy a car, join the military, drink alcohol, or do the many other things only adults can legally do. Why would we think they have the maturity to make decisions in the political process if they can\u2019t make any of these other decisions?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critics of lowering the voting age often cite the fact that a teen\u2019s brain isn\u2019t fully developed, not reaching full development until about the age of 25. According to one&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/j.1467-9248.2006.00620.x\">oft-cited study<\/a>&nbsp;on this subject from 2006, \u201cresearch in neuroscience suggests that the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, is still undergoing major reconstruction and development during the teenage years.\u201d The study noted that the prefrontal cortex is what \u201cenables us to weigh dilemmas, balance trade-offs, and, in short, make reasonable decisions in politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amid the push to lower the voting age, GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy recently proposed&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/gop-presidential-candidate-vivek-ramaswamy-to-announce-constitutional-amendment-to-raise-voting-age-to-25\">amending the Constitution<\/a>&nbsp;to raise the voting age from 18 to 25. However, the other side of the momentum seems to be gaining momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vermont and Missouri are hardly alone in undergoing campaigns to lower the voting age. In New Mexico, for example, two Democrats introduced a bill earlier this year to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to register as voters starting in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Oregon, meanwhile, 15-year-old high school sophomore Devon Lawson-McCourt recently \u201csecured a promise\u201d from Democratic state Rep. Rob Nosse to propose an amendment to the state constitution giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coming back to the east coast, the Boston City Council late last year approved a petition\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/elections\/democrats\" target=\"_blank\">allowing 16- and 17-year-old residents<\/a>\u00a0to vote in municipal elections. The Massachusetts town of Southborough in March similarly approved a petition lowering the voting age for residents to 17. Both measures must pass the state legislature to be implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just last month, the Massachusetts Legislature\u2019s Joint Committee on Election Laws heard testimony from advocates and lawmakers speaking in favor of different bills to lower and even outright eliminate the voting age for some elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOnly with suffrage are social groups able to hold their governments truly accountable to their needs,\u201d John Wall, a professor of childhood studies at Rutgers University, told the committee. \u201cIt is incorrect and discriminatory to apply to children the need for voting capacities when we don\u2019t apply such capacities to adults. All adults have the right to vote, even if they have severe dementia, cognitive disabilities, illiteracy, or just plain stupidity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two cities in California \u2014 Oakland and Berkley \u2014 and five others in Maryland \u2014 Takoma Park, Hyattsville, Greenbelt, Riverdale Park, and Mount Rainer \u2014 already permit 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in municipal elections. (Alameda County, where Oakland and Berkeley are located, has yet to implement the measure in either city.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another area of Maryland pushing to lower the voting age is Howard County, where the Board of Education is composed of eight members, including one reserved for a student elected by their peers in grades six through 11. Sixth graders are typically 11 or 12 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Across the Potomac, a Virginia Democrat submitted a bill last year to be introduced in the 2023 General Assembly for a constitutional amendment to lower the voting age for local elections to 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we can get\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/education\/high-school\" target=\"_blank\">16- and 17-year-old\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0the ability to vote in at least local elections, it will empower them to think about their civil responsibility,\u201d said Delegate Sam Rasoul, who argued young people don\u2019t have a sufficient say despite being affected by important decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Culver City, Calif., meanwhile, a ballot initiative to allow residents as young as 16 to vote in city and school board elections fell short in last year\u2019s midterm elections. However, proponents of the Vote 16 movement were encouraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe movement continues to grow in interest and strength,\u201d Andrew Wilkes of the group Generation Citizen told the Los Angeles Times. \u201cThis lays the groundwork for the baton to be passed to rising high school students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the federal level, Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y.,&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/house-of-representatives\/legislation\">introduced legislation<\/a>&nbsp;in January to amend the Constitution to make 16 the national minimum voting age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOver the past few years, we have seen the influence young people in our nation have on trends, political movements, and elections,\u201d Meng said at the time. \u201cThey continue to advocate for many crucial issues for which they are deeply passionate about. It is time to give them a voice in our democracy and reward their passion so that their voices are heard at the ballot box. 16- and 17-year-olds are legally permitted to work, drive, and they also pay federal income taxes. They are contributing members of our society and I believe it is right and fair to allow them to vote in our elections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critics contend such arguments disguise the chief motive of those in power pushing this effort: gaining more votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhy would officials suddenly consider that minors have the ability and judgment to make important political decisions when they don\u2019t trust them to make any of these other decisions [such as signing a contract or serving on a jury]?\u201d von Spakovksy asked Just the News last year. \u201cNothing other than politics and the belief it will somehow help them get elected.&nbsp;This is a crass motive and a betrayal of all of their other constituents and particularly voters whose votes will be diluted by children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A near-record 27% of voters aged 18 to 29 cast ballots in last year\u2019s midterm elections, the second-highest turnout in three decades, according to an&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/circle.tufts.edu\/2022-election-center#youth-prefer-democrats-by-28-point-margin\">analysis of exit poll data<\/a>&nbsp;by Tufts University\u2019s Center for Information &amp; Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Across the country, these young voters overwhelmingly supported Democrats over Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2021, 125&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/house-of-representatives\/democrats\">House Democrats voted<\/a>&nbsp;in favor of an amendment to the For the People Act, which included several Democrat-backed election rule changes, to add a provision to the legislation lowering the voting age for federal elections to 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vote16USA, a group pushing for the voting age to be lowered to 16, argues it\u2019s important to make voting a \u201chabit\u201d for life, 16- and 17-year-olds are ready to vote and deserve a \u201cstake in the game,\u201d and lowering the voting age will \u201cstrengthen civics education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent months, several prominent media outlets \u2014 such as CNN and Rolling Sone, in addition to more local publications \u2014 have published opinion pieces advocating for lowering the voting age to 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Original Article: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Democrat-led movement to lower the voting age to 16 is gaining momentum as teenagers seek local victories while winning the support of some in the media. The Democrat-led movement to&nbsp;lower the legal voting age&nbsp;to 16 \u2014 or in some cases even younger \u2014 is gaining momentum as teenagers and other activists seek to score local victories while winning the support of some voices in the media. The so-called \u201cVote 16\u201d campaign recently notched a victory in Vermont, where the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-democrats"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4244,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4242\/revisions\/4244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}