Lowering The Voting Age to 16

Rationale

The goal of proposing this bill is to allow lower the voting age from 18 to 16. And this is not a new
policy that is looking to be passed and discussed. Eli Frankel, founder and chair of the Youth
Progressive Policy Group, says that “political and social activism is surging in America… protest
groups are springing up across the country… concerned citizens are marching in the streets to support
science, women's rights, justice and immigration. Congressional offices are flooded with calls from
constituents. And much of the renewed political and social activity is being carried out by high school
students — many of them committed and informed activists, yet still too young to vote” (NY Daily
News). Not all of Americans agree that this necessarily means lowering the voting age though. A
Constitutional law expert, Michael Morley, disagrees with the growing movement largely because he
does not thinks that because 16 year olds are still dependent on their parents and are not yet adults,
they do not have enough responsibilities to add voting also one of them: “The arguments for lowering
the voting age to 18 don’t entirely translate to lowering it to 16… you had the notion that 18 was
already adulthood in several other contexts,” such as facing the draft, establishing households, and
starting families (PBS NewsHour). Aside from refuting the arguments that 16 year olds are not
mature enough by sitting other such responsibilities, such as driving, joining the military, having a job,
etc. Frankel also refers to the fact that “studies show that one of the biggest predictors of whether a
voter will cast a ballot is simply whether that voter has done so before. So by simply lowering the
voting age one year we can foster a whole new generation of active and engaged voters with healthy
voting habits to last them a lifetime.” Thus, if the CSA supports this bill, then it would be support for
greater democracy and citizen participation in the United States moving forward.

Our Bill

B-6839: A bill to amend the election law, in relation to the qualifications of voters; and
to amend the education law, in relation to civic education and student voter
registration
Congress declares that:
● Section 1 of the bill amends current election law to allow all persons sixteen years of age or
older to vote in state and local elections.
● Section 2 of the bill amends current election law to allow all persons turning sixteen in a given
calendar year to register to vote in that year in their schools.
 ● Section 3 of the bill incorporates that all students in the ninth and higher grades shall receive
civic education for at least eight full class periods, in accordance with the department's 9-12
social studies framework.

Legislative Strategy

This proposal should be sent to the House of Representatives because considering that democrats have
largely been more in favor for lowering the voting age then Republicans have and since the House of
Representatives currently has a majority of Democrats, this proposal would most likely be passed there
than in the senate because the balance of the political parties in the House of Representatives is in the
balance of the Democrats.

This bill should be a joint resolution because even though it requires two-thirds majority of both
houses to pass, a joint resolution does not require presidential approval, and considering how
President Trump might react to this bill, it will be easier to convince ⅔ of the Senate than Pres. Trump

New York Congresswoman Grace Meng has shown her support within the last six months for
lowering the voting age when she said in a press release that she is “a firm believer that we should
empower our young people and that includes extending the right to vote for 16- and 17-year-olds…
voting is a serious responsibly. But I believe that our youth are mature enough at these ages to
responsibly cast a ballot” (Press Release, 2018).

Assemblymember Robert Carroll had also supported the efforts when he “introduced a bill, the
Young Voter Act, that would allow 17-year-olds to cast ballots in state and local elections (Gotham
Gazette).

By partnering with The Youth Progressive Policy Group, who “ continues to advocate for the Young
Voter Act and pushes to increase young people's' participation in elections” and Vote16USA, who
“aim to support efforts to extend voting rights to 16- and 17-year-old on the local level, help start new
local campaigns, and elevate the issue prominence on a national level” we will be able to spread our
arguments in favor for this bill to a wider network of people and professionals.

Another way to extend support on this bill is to partner with high schools. So many people, even when
they are 18, do not vote because they could not register. If the CSA can partner with New York city
high schools so registration can happen in the classroom, them voter turnout will escalate dramatically
if registration is make convenient and easy. We could also reach out to youth activist and women who
was at the center of the Supreme Court Case, Tinker v. Des Moines, Mary Beth Tinker to visit schools
across the country currently, to come to rallies, assemblies, and schools in New York to encourage
support.

Though President Trump has made no official statement on the idea of lowering the voting age,
considering that BBC polls recorded that 55% of 18-29 year voted for Clinton, while 37% voted for
Trump, and that 42% of 30-44 year old respondents voted for Trump, along with 53% of over 45 and
over 65 year old voters, it is most likely that Trump will prefer keeping the voting age as is to optimize
his chance of reelection in 2020.
Work Cited

Brachfeld, Ben. “As New York Votes, a Push to Allow 17-Year-Olds the Ballot Next”. The Gotham
Gazette, November 08, 2017,
http://www.gothamgazette.com/state/7303-as-new-york-votes-a-push-to-allow-17-year-olds-t
he-ballot-next

Frankel, Eli. “Give high schoolers the right to vote — young people need a voice in government.”
NYDailyNews, May 5, 2017,
https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/give-high-schoolers-vote-young-people-voice-article-
1.3137513

Meng, Grace. “Meng Introduces Proposed Constitutional Amendment to Lower the Voting Age in
America to 16 Years Old.” United States House of Representatives, Aug 15, 2018,
https://meng.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/meng-introduces-proposed-constitution
al-amendment-to-lower-the-voting

“Mission Statement.” Vote16USA, December 2015, http://vote16usa.org/

“Mission Statement.” Youth Progressive Policy Group, November 2016, https://yppg.org/about/

Morley, Michael. “Should 16-year-olds be allowed to vote?” PBS NewsHour, April 20, 2018,
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/should-16-year-olds-be-allowed-to-vote

“Who voted for Trump? Not young people, say exit polls.” BBC Politics, November 9 2016,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/37920950/who-voted-for-trump-not-young-people-
say-exit-polls