Last November, I had the pleasure of meeting with Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) and her Judicial Counsel in November in her Washington office. Meng introduced a bill to lower the voting age last summer, so I set up a meeting to discuss how we could work together to move the bill forward. I talked about…
Thanks to the efforts of the newly formed Fairfax County NYRA chapter, the Fairfax County Democratic Party and grassroots organizations Virginia Democracy Forward and Virginia Civic Engagement Table have endorsed lowering the state voting age to 16. “16-and-17-year-olds are not allowed to vote even though many of them are politically active and knowledgeable”, says Virginia…
Last week, U.S. Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) introduced a resolution proposing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would lower the voting age to sixteen throughout the country. This resolution (H.J.Res.138) would replace the Twenty-sixth Amendment, which prevents states from having a voting age higher than 18, with the following language: “The right of citizens…
On Wednesday, NYRA members attended a public hearing before the Washington, D.C. City Council to support the Youth Vote Amendment Act of 2018. If passed, this act would lower the D.C. voting age to 16 for both local and federal elections: something unprecedented in U.S. history. A total of 73 public witnesses testified in favor…
Last week, I met with N.C. State Senator Ben Clark, who I spoke with briefly about lowering the voting age in North Carolina to 16 years old. It was a very successful meeting as I shared some reasons to lower the voting age. Mr. Clark agreed that 16 and 17-year-olds are more than capable to…
Yet another reason we should lower the voting age The fallout from the Parkland shooting has brought the country’s attention to several facts that often go overlooked. Since the shooting, more people are starting to see that young people have an immediate stake in the way the country is run. And, secondly, thanks to student…
WASHINGTON, D.C. April 10, 2018: The National Youth Rights Association applauds Councilmember Charles Allen for introducing the Youth Vote Amendment Act of 2018 today, and calls upon the DC Council to become the first location in the United States to permit 16-year-olds to vote for president. In 2013 Takoma Park, Md. became the first city…
Evan Low is a California Assemblymember representing the 28th District and is no stranger to ageism. When he hit the streets to run for Campbell City Council at the age of 21, voters answered their doors asking, “What school do you go to?” or said, “I have shirts and ties that are older than you!”…
We at the Memphis Youth Union (MemYU) have decided to develop our local campaign to state. Our goal? Extension of voting rights to sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds in local and state elections in Tennessee! We are a NYRA chapter that consists of seven high-school-aged youth community organizers and one adult ally working with a local non-profit,…
Today is a vote-a-rama for the movement to lower the voting age with two Maryland towns taking up the issue at their meetings tonight. In Greenbelt, Maryland, the city council is voting on Resolution 2057 to lower the voting age to 16. After voters last month passed an advisory measure in favor of lowering the…
