AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT
SUFFRAGE AND THE RIGHT TO VOTE
26th Amendment, Yes or No?
1 -3 Days
OBJECTIVE:
Students participate in a role playing exercise
simulating the debates leading up to the
constitutional amendment giving the right to vote to
18 year olds, or giving the vote to 16 year olds.
MATERIALS:
Role Play handouts and primary source documents
INSTRUCTIONS:
Decide which issue the students will debate, either
rescinding the 18 year old vote or giving the vote
to 16 year olds. Select the materials relative to that
issue and make copies.
Form student groups of 3 to 4.
Distribute the appropriate materials to each group,
and allow students time to read the articles.
Read the text of the 26th amendment to the class
and give the students the historic context for the
passage of this amendment.
Tell the students that a strong lobby group has
proposed a constitutional amendment to take away
the vote from 18 to 20 year olds because of voter
apathy among that age group, or that there are
serious proposals to grant the vote to 16 and 17
year olds, depending on which issue your class has
chosen to study.
Say: One of our Senators (played by you, the
teacher) will hold a hearing to gather information
on this topic.
Cut up group identity cards.
Give each group the identity card of one of the
special interest groups in favor of, or opposed to,
the issue.
Explain that their assignment is to work together
to gather facts, opinions, or ideas that support the
point of view of the group they represent.
Have students present arguments in a committee
hearing format.
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Do you think that 16 year olds should have the
right to vote? Defend your position.
Do you think that 18 to 20 year olds should not
be allowed to vote? Defend your position.
Why do you think so many 18 to 20 year olds
don’t vote now?
What would be a real, workable way to improve
the turnout of (16) or 18-20 year olds?
SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT:
Students could develop and adminster a
survey within their school to assess interest in
voting among their 18 year old peers. Write an
analysis of your survey results.
Write a one page statement supporting or
opposing the repeal of the 26th amendment or/
lowering the voting age to 16. Include at least
four reasons for your position
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
Athletic Industry Lobbying
Group
18 to 20 year olds buy a lot of
sports gear and this lobbying
group wants to keep the vote for
that age group.
This group definitely wants 18
to 20 year olds (one of the
biggest music buying age
groups) to keep the vote.
Senior citizens who do not think
18 to 20 year olds should vote
because of their voting record
and general apathy.
Senior Citizens Group
Recording Industry
Lobbyists
Young people who are very
concerned that their vote will
be taken away. Their
research supports keeping the
vote for their group.
18 to 20 Year-old Voter
Representative
A newly formed
organization whose goal
is to increase voter
turnout for adults over 21
and remove the vote for
irresponsible 18 to 20
year olds
Concerned Voter
Advocacy Group
A lobbying group for
parents who believe that
18 to 20 year olds are not
mature enough to choose
wisely at the voting place.
Concerned Parents of
Teens
Special Interest Groups for 26th Amendment Simulation
The 26th Amendment, Yes or No?
Are 18 year-olds ready to vote?
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
www.archives.gov
The Constitutional Amendment Process
The authority to amend the Constitution of the United States is derived from Article V of the Constitution. After Congress
proposes an amendment, the Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA), is charged with responsibility for administering the ratification process under the provisions of 1 U.S.C. 106b. The
Archivist has delegated many of the ministerial duties associated with this function to the Director of the Federal Register.
Neither Article V of the Constitution nor section 106b describe the ratification process in detail. The Archivist and the Director
of the Federal Register follow procedures and customs established by the Secretary of State, who performed these duties until
1950, and the Administrator of General Services, who served in this capacity until NARA assumed responsibility as an
independent agency in 1985.
The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both
the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State
legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention. The Congress
proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution. Since the President does not have a constitutional role in the
amendment process, the joint resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval. The original document is
forwarded directly to NARA's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) for processing and publication. The OFR adds legislative
history notes to the joint resolution and publishes it in slip law format. The OFR also assembles an information package for the
States which includes formal "red-line" copies of the joint resolution, copies of the joint resolution in slip law format, and the
statutory procedure for ratification under 1 U.S.C. 106b.
The Archivist submits the proposed amendment to the States for their consideration by sending a letter of notification to each
Governor along with the informational material prepared by the OFR. The Governors then formally submit the amendment to
their State legislatures. In the past, some State legislatures have not waited to receive official notice before taking action on a
proposed amendment. When a State ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the
State action, which is immediately conveyed to the Director of the Federal Register. The OFR examines ratification documents
for facial legal sufficiency and an authenticating signature. If the documents are found to be in good order, the Director
acknowledges receipt and maintains custody of them. The OFR retains these documents until an amendment is adopted or
fails, and then transfers the records to the National Archives for preservation.
A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 of 50
States). When the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a
formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This
certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large and serves as official notice to the Congress and
to the Nation that the amendment process has been completed.
In a few instances, States have sent official documents to NARA to record the rejection of an amendment or the rescission of a
prior ratification. The Archivist does not make any substantive determinations as to the validity of State ratification actions, but
it has been established that the Archivist's certification of the facial legal sufficiency of ratification documents is final and
conclusive.
In recent history, the signing of the certification has become a ceremonial function attended by various dignitaries, which may
include the President. President Johnson signed the certifications for the 24th and 25th Amendments as a witness, and
President Nixon similarly witnessed the certification of the 26th Amendment along with three young scholars. On May 18,
1992, the Archivist performed the duties of the certifying official for the first time to recognize the ratification of the 27th
Amendment, and the Director of the Federal Register signed the certification as a witness.
The Bill of Rights (Amendments 1-10 and 27)
The 13th Amendment (Prohibiting Slavery)
The 17th Amendment (Direct Election of Senators)
The 19th Amendment (Granting Women the Right to Vote)
Page URL: http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution/index.html
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001 • Telephone: 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-627
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
The 26th Amendment, Yes or No?
Are 18 year-olds ready to vote?
26th. Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Proposal and Ratification
This amendment was proposed by the Ninety-second Congress by Senate Joint Resolution No. 7,
which was approved by the Senate on Mar. 10, 1971, and by the House of Representatives on Mar. 23,
1971. It was declared by the Administrator of General Services on July 5, 1971, to have been ratified by
the legislatures of 39 of the 50 States. This amendment was ratified by the following States:
Connecticut, March 23, 1971; Delaware, March 23, 1971; Minnesota, March 23, 1971; Tennessee,
March 23, 1971; Washington, March 23, 1971; Hawaii, March 24, 1971; Massachusetts, March 24,
1971; Montana, March 29, 1971; Arkansas, March 30, 1971; Idaho, March 30, 1971; Iowa, March 30,
1971; Nebraska, April 2, 1971; New Jersey, April 3, 1971; Kansas, April 7, 1971; Michigan, April 7,
1971; Alaska, April 8, 1971; Maryland, April 8, 1971; Indiana, April 8, 1971; Maine, April 9, 1971;
Vermont, April 16, 1971; Louisiana, April 17, 1971; California, April 19, 1971; Colorado, April 27, 1971;
Pennsylvania, April 27, 1971; Texas, April 27, 1971; South Carolina, April 28, 1971; West Virginia, April
28, 1971; New Hampshire, May 13, 1971; Arizona, May 14, 1971; Rhode Island, May 27, 1971; New
York, June 2, 1971; Oregon, June 4, 1971; Missouri, June 14, 1971; Wisconsin, June 22, 1971; Illinois,
June 29, 1971; Alabama, June 30, 1971; Ohio, June 30, 1971; North Carolina, July 1, 1971;
Oklahoma, July 1, 1971.
Ratification was completed on July 1, 1971.
The amendment was subsequently ratified by Virginia, July 8, 1971; Wyoming, July 8, 1971; Georgia,
October 4, 1971.
Certification of Validity
Publication of the certifying statement of the Administrator of General Services that the amendment had
become valid was made on July 7, 1971, F.R. Doc. 71 099691, 36 F.R. 12725.
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
The 26th Amendment, Yes or No?
Are 18 year-olds ready to vote?
“Ohio Legislature Oks Vote 18 Amendment”
Columbus Evening Dispatch
Thursday, July 1, 1971
By David Lore
America’s 18, 19 and 20 year-olds were
granted full voting rights Wednesday evening when
the Ohio General Assembly became the 38th and
pivotal signatory to the federal Constitutional voting
age amendment.
Senate President Pro Term Ted Gray, a
Piqua Republican, signed the ratification resolution
for Ohio at 8:10 p.m. Wednesday, about 10 minutes
after the Oklahoma legislature rushed into special
session in a vain attempt to beat Ohio to the critical
38th vote.
THE BRIEF, two-paragraph amendment
was approved by Congress on March 23 but it took
ratification by three fourths or 38 of the 50 states to
officially lower the voting age from 21 to 18 in all
elections.
Congress has granted young persons in this
age category the vote in federal elections (president,
vice president, the U.S., Senate and House of
Representatives), but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
the states must rule on the qualifications for state
and local elections.
Shortly after the 99-member Ohio
House approved the measure, 81-9, and Gray
signed it, President Nixon called on the 11
million benefiting young people to exercise the
franchise by “registering and voting in each
election.”
OHIO’S ROLE Wednesday night in
putting over the amendment was a surprising comefrom-behind effort by a state which two-years ago
killed the issue at the polls by a margin of 45,000
votes.
Until recent weeks, legislative leaders were
unhurriedly moving through the assembly a
resolution, which would once again have put the
issue to Ohio voters this November.
As state after state clamored aboard the
“Vote 18” bandwagon, the leadership in the Ohio
assembly changed course, ditched the November
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
vote resolution in a conference committee, and
brought the federal amendment forward for action.
IT PASSED 30-2 in the Senate Tuesday
afternoon and was rammed through procedural
technicalities in the House to allow for final decision
at a special Wednesday evening House session.
As the House convened at 7:50 p.m.
Wednesday, Alabama and North Carolina became
the 37th state respectively to ratify the amendment
and Oklahoma legislators were gathering for a
special 8 p.m. (Ohio time) session to cast the 38th
endorsement.
House Speaker Charles Kurfess, liberally
exercising his gavel and ignoring the outraged
screams of opponents, pushed the ratification
resolution through the House in 12 minutes, picking
up his pen to sign the measure at 8:02 p.m.
IN THE final 81-9 House vote, three
Franklin County representatives, Republicans
Lawrence Hughes, Mack Pemberton, and Alan
Norris, opposed ratification.
Ratification became official at 8:10 p.m.
when Gray, replacing Lt. Gov. John Brown as
presiding officer of the Senate, concurred for the
Senate. The document then went to Secretary of
State Ted Brown for certification and Governor
Gilligan for mailing.
Sen. Stanley Aronoff, R-Cincinnati, chief
sponsor of the ratification measure, immediately
called Oklahoma to assess the progress there.
“THEY’RE still trying to find out if we’re
in session,” he reported back to his colleagues,
grinning ear to ear.
Informed of Ohio’s ratification of the
measure, Oklahoma lawmakers reportedly gave
Aronoff some unpublished advice.
Ratification of the change to the 26th
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution enfranchised
an estimated 533,000 young Ohioans, approximately
50,000 of them in Franklin County.
REP. FRED Young, R-Dayton, told
representatives during the brief House discussion
that “tonight you have the opportunity to enfranchise
The 26th Amendment, Yes or No?
Are 18 year-olds ready to vote?
the largest group of Americans since women were
given the vote.”
All was not harmony on the issue, however.
House Judiciary Chairman Joseph Tulley, RMentor, warned the House that Ohioans in 1969
showed they opposed teenage voting when they
defeated a proposal to enfrancise 19 and 20 year
olds.
“THEIR collective wisdom is enough for
me and should be enough for you- this is a
representative body and not a governmental elite.”
“What happened to free speech?” shouted
Rep. Richard Reichel, R-Massillon, as Kurfess
gaveled the issue to a vote.
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
Some representatives, including Norris
indicated their opposition was based more on the
ramrodding of the federal ratification rather than the
voting age issue. These legislators preferred to have
Ohioans vote once again on the issue this November.
IN ADDITION to Norris, Pemberton and
Hughes, “no” votes Wednesday night were also cast
by Reps. Rodney Hughes, R-Bellefontaine; Gertrude
Polcar, R-Parma; Dale Schmidt, R-Cincinnati, James
Thorpe, R-Alliance; Tulley; and Arthur Wilkowski,
a Toledoan and the only Democrat to oppose the
measure.
Another nine representatives, all
Republicans, were absent or abstained on the vote.
The 26th Amendment, Yes or No?
Are 18 year-olds ready to vote?
From the “Old enough to
fight, old enough to vote”
By: Sara Steindorf
Date: 02/01/2000
Christian Science Monitor February 1,
2000.
The seeds of the 26th Amendment to
the United States Constitution, which
lowered the voting age to 18, were sown
during World War II. Thousands of
young American men were losing their
lives, many of them under the age of 21.
Thus, it became fashionable to say,
“Well, if they’re old enough to fight for
their country, they’re old enough to vote
for their country.”
One man, US Sen. Jennings Randolph,
fought on Capitol Hill to secure voting
rights for 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds. He
proposed legislation to amend the
Constitution. But 1940s America was
not ready to give young people the key
to the ballot box.
By the 1960s, the mood of the country
had changed. The war in Vietnam was
raging, being fought by US soldiers
whose average age was 19. The slogan,
“Old enough to fight, old enough to vote”
became popular once again.
Senator Randolph proposed his
legislation once more, and this time, the
bill passed - unanimously in the Senate,
and with only 19 opposing votes in the
House. It took exactly 100 days to get
the states to ratify it. On July 4, 1971,
President Richard Nixon signed the 26th
Amendment into law.
“The reason ... new voters will do so
much for America at home is that you
will infuse into this country some
idealism, some courage, some stamina,
some high moral purpose, that this
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
nation always needs,” President Nixon
said.
But three decades after the fight to gain
that voting voice was won, many young
people take the privilege for granted and
frequently ignore it. In 1996, only about
one-third of 18- to 20-year-olds voted in
the presidential election. That rate is low
compared with other age groups.
As a result, politicians, educators, and
even MTV have been trying to rouse
interest in voting. Congress passed
motor-voter legislation in 1993, which
lets people register when renewing a
driver’s license or registering a car. MTV
and AT&T have teamed up in the past,
giving people the luxury of registering
over the phone by dialing 1-800REGISTER. And a few politicians are
even trying to lower the voting age
again. There is no mention in the 26th
Amendment of those who are under 18.
(c) Copyright 2001 The Christian
Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
The Christian Science Monitor— an
independent daily newspaper providing
context and clarity on national and
international news, peoples and
cultures, and social trends. Online at
http://www.csmonitor.com
The 26th Amendment, Yes or No?
Are 18 year-olds ready to vote?
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2009 12:36:44 -0400
From: Stuart Dent <[email protected]>
Reply-To: [email protected]
Organization: Ohio High School
To: [email protected]
Subject: DON'T LOSE YOUR VOTE!
Dear 18 to 20 year old:
SAVE YOUR VOTE!
As you are aware, the 26th amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted the vote to 18 to 20 year olds
in all elections. Ever since the amendment was ratified by the states in 1971, certain politicians have
lived in constant fear of a youth uprising that would put them out of office and insert younger elected
officials with distinctly different agendas from recent administrations. Their fears have reached the
point that action is about to be taken that will eventually disenfranchise you and your peers. Senate
bill 409BS was introduced by Senator Hugh G. Hoax (R) of Ohio that would begin the process of
returning the voting age to 21 (the pre-1971 voting age). The bill’s co-sponsor Senator William Bogus
(D) of Oklahoma claims to have the support of a number of other senators, as well as civic and
business organizations. In a recent press release the sponsoring senators listed the following
reasons to rescind the franchise to 18 to 20 year olds:
 Not many 18 to 20 year olds actually vote. Voting among this group has declined since they
received the right to vote in 1971.
 18 to 20 year olds are uninformed. Test scores and surveys show that most people in that age
group couldn't even identify the major party vice presidential candidates in the 2000 election.
 Young people in this age group are not productive citizens. Surveys show that many continue
to live at home and are either students or do not have full time employment.
 Contrary to the arguments used in the 1970s that 18 to 20 year olds should have the vote,
there is not longer a compulsory draft which requires 18-20 to serve in the military. In addition,
the likelihood of a large scale war is very remote.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SAVE YOUR VOTE:
If you and your peers don't act immediately, it is very likely that this effort to take a giant step
backwards in the suffrage movement will gain momentum.
Get the facts, make your arguments, and contact your senator!
Your Pal,
Stu
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
The 26th Amendment, Yes or No?
Are 18 year-olds ready to vote?
STOP THAT TEENAGER BEFORE HE VOTES
STOP THAT TEENAGER BEFORE HE VOTES
By ELLIOT ROSENBERG
Each fall I commit an act of willful
sabotage. It is premeditated, unabashed
and performed in an American classroom beneath the Stars and Stripes.
And when the deed is done, I harbor no
feelings of guilt. For in weakening, ever
so slightly, one pillar of democratic
mythology, I have helped preserve the
Republic.
New York City’s Board of Education
would disagree. My high school's
administration would, too. Also, my
union, the United Federation of
Teachers, and every Republican and
Democrat who has ever run for public
office, anywhere. And, most vehemently
of all, the League of Women Voters.
What is this act of possible sedition? Through tactically indirect means,
I discourage some teenagers from voting, checkmating the vigorous campaigns to register them and get them
into those curtained booths. I do it for a
good reason: Many teenagers do not
deserve to vote. Their teacher should
know. Let me explain: Each campaign
season my immediate superior, the
Social Studies Department chairman,
asks whether any of my classes hold sizable numbers of 18-year-olds. Instead of
taking the cowardly way out and simply
saying “No,” I welcome two genteel,
well-dressed women from the League of
Women Voters into my classroom. As
the well-meaning pair talk about citizen
responsibility, the duty of all eligible
teenagers to make their collective voice
heard across the land, their opportunity
to make democracy truly work, they
never take note of the fidgeting bodylanguage signs before them. Nor the
subtle eye-to-eye contact by which students query me: “When they gonna finish?”
When the lecture ends, the women
distribute several pamphlets and a
manila voter-registration form to all the
18-year-olds. Self-addressed by the
Board of Elections, it spares teenagers
any inconvenience on the road to
becoming good citizens. And it’s
marked, “No Postage Necessary If
Mailed In The United States,” fulfilling
one’s civic duty also becomes financially
painless. And if a journey to the nearest
mail box might prove arduous, arrangements are in place for a table-top “drop”
site in the school lobby.
Then the women make their first
major mistake. Instead of leading their
quarry line by line through the rows of
questions on the registration form, they
depart.
“Hey, what’s the color of my eyes
for item 7?”
“Can I get in trouble if I sign the
aff-i-dav-it?”
“What do I write in the box marked
‘For Official Use Only’?”
Possibly the league representatives
figure any 18-year-old can fill out a simple form. That seems a logical conclusion by any group also capable of presuming all 18-year-olds belong in a voting booth. Or perhaps they assume I’ll
enthusiastically pick up where they
enthusiastically leave off.
Another grievous mistake.
I’ll go this far: “Your eyes are
hazel… you won’t get in trouble if your
answers are honest… don’t write anything in the box marked ‘Official Use’.”
But not a step further.
“Mr. Rosenberg, I don’t want to
register and I don’t care about voting.
Do I have to?”
“Say, If I fill this thing out, will you
give me extra credit?”
Effective sabotage need not be violent. It can be as subtle as an ambiguous shrug or its verbal equivalent.
“I’m not telling you to vote; I’m
not telling you not to vote. That’s your
decision to make.”
Then I add the fatal caveat: “If you
decide to vote, take the trouble to be
informed, learn the candidates’ backgrounds, learn the issues, learn where
the candidates stand on those issues.”
That strikes some in the room as
too much spinach, not enough candy.
So the number of uncompleted manila
registration forms I find in the waste
basket at the end of the school day
never alarms me.
If we hesitate to let teenagers drink
until they’re 21, why entrust them with
shaping the fate of the Republic at 18?
Since the 26th Amendment’s ratification in 1971, about 400 youngsters have
passed through my economics and history classes each school year. Many I’d
happily escort, umbrella in hand, to the
polls on a stormy day. But many others
constitute a sleeping giant best left
unwakened.
After marking a few tests, a teacher
is a better judge of a youngster's readiness to share in his country’s governance than any voter-action group,
however well-intentioned. In social
studies class, a platter is placed before
the student containing the roots and
structure of American government, the
essence of our Constitution, its evolution, its enduring issues. And if he
leaves his plate untouched, the nation
will be better served if he also leaves no
fingerprints on a voting booth lever.
Consider an essay on government
that informs the reader that the president “passes” laws but Congress can
veto them and the Supreme Court can
make the law work anyway by overriding Congress’s veto. Or a history essay
that affirms Franklin Roosevelt was to
blame for the Depression that took
place in the 1950s, but he made up for
it by winning World War II after the
Chinese bombed Pearl Harbor.
“Getting Out the Vote” is an important endeavor. To my mind, “Keeping
‘Em Away” is often just as necessary.
Mr. Rosenberg is a high-school
teacher in New York.
Reprinted with permission from The Wall Street Journal, September 29, 1988
©2005 Kids Voting USA, Inc. – All rights reserved.
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
Grades 9-12 SUFFRAGE AND THE RIGHT TO VOTE
26
The 26th Amendment, Yes or No?
Are 18 year-olds ready to vote?
Thursday, April 8, 2004
Should voting age fall to 16?
Several states ponder measure
By Carl Weiser
Cincinnati Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - High school junior Lindsay
Holbrook is brokenhearted.
Not over a boy - but over the fact that, at 17, she will
not be allowed to vote for president this November.
And the Walled Lake, Mich., teen aims to do
something about that.
Holbrook is part of a movement to lower the voting
age.
It's an idea several states - as well as foreign
countries - are considering as politicians desperately
search for ways to boost dismal and sinking turnout
among young adults.
"I am very, very interested in politics in general,"
said Lindsay, a John Kerry supporter who turns 18
in December. "It just breaks my heart - I'm just
going to miss the cutoff."
It sounds counterintuitive: Young adults don't vote,
so lower the voting age.
But advocates say 18 is the worst time to start voting
because that's when teenagers' lives are in turmoil moving away to college, stressing out over
graduation, getting a job, joining the armed forces.
And studies show voting is a habit that has to start
early. If people don't start out as voters, they're less
likely to ever vote. Some researchers fear that as this
generation of nonvoters ages, they will stay that
way, causing a dangerous dive in voter turnout as
baby boomers and older generations die out. In the
2000 election, senior citizens voted at about twice
the rate of 18- to 24-year-olds.
"As I was visiting schools, as I talked to classes, I
asked them what kind of things would make a
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
difference," said Minnesota state Sen. Steve Kelley,
a Democrat from Hopkins, Minn. "Among the ideas
tossed out were having 17-year-olds be able to vote."
Kelley's bill to allow just that has passed a
committee.
Activists are pushing to go further: They want 16year-olds to be able to vote. At that age most
teenagers can work, pay taxes, drive and be charged
as adults for crimes - even be sentenced to death said Alex Koroknay-Palicz, executive director of the
National Youth Rights Association.
In most states, 16-year-olds can get a driver's
license, though usually with restrictions. And while
almost every state requires that a couple be 18 to
marry on their own, most states let 16- and 17-yearolds wed if they have their parents' consent. In New
Hampshire, girls as young as 13 can marry, as long
as they have permission from their parents.
"What kind of twisted message do we send when we
describe a murderer as a 'mature, responsible adult'
and describe a 14- or 16-year-old student looking to
vote as a 'stupid little kid.' This is hypocritical and
wrong," said Koroknay-Palicz, 22.
A federal constitutional amendment lowered the
voting age to 18 in 1971. States are allowed to set
their ages lower, but not higher.
In 2002, Cambridge, Mass., city leaders voted to
lower the local voting age to 17. But the state
legislature, which has the final say, has not approved
the change.
Maine is considering letting 17-year-olds vote in
primaries, as long as they turn 18 by the general
election, something several other states already
allow. In Florida, advocates hope to have an
initiative on this fall's ballot lowering the voting age
to 16. Proposals also have been introduced in Texas
and Hawaii.
The 26th Amendment, Yes or No?
Are 18 year-olds ready to vote?
California has the most radical proposal: a
constitutional amendment that would give 16-yearolds a half vote and 14-year-olds a quarter vote in
state elections beginning in 2006.
Britain is considering lowering its voting age to 16,
a proposal that picked up the backing of the ruling
Labor Party. And Canada's chief elections officer in
March suggested doing the same thing.
In those nations, as in the United States, the push for
a lower voting age is driven by the falling rates at
which 18- to 25-year-olds vote. Governments are
desperate to try to bring young people back into the
civic fold, to make them feel they have a stake in
their countries.
Since the national voting age was lowered to 18 in
1971, the voting rate among 18- to 24-year-olds has
dropped fairly steadily. In the 2000 election, 42
percent of young adults voted, compared with 70
percent of those older than 25.
This year will see unprecedented efforts to get young
adults interested in voting in the November election.
Everyone from professional wrestlers to TV
producers to MTV has some kind of youth voting
initiative.
None of the efforts to lower the voting age will be in
force in time for this fall's presidential election much to the dismay of Caroline DuWors, 16, a
junior at Milford High School.
"I've formed my opinions on the candidates and
stayed up with their campaigns as much as possible,"
Caroline said. "I think a common misconception
among adults is that all teenagers would rather sleep
or go shopping than think about politics."
Elections experts are divided.
"I think it's a dumb idea," said Curtis Gans, director
of the Committee for the Study of the American
Electorate.
The voting age was set at 18 because that's the age at
which people could be drafted and die for their
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
country. They don't have enough life experience or
history and don't know the issues in enough detail,
he said.
"There are other ways to learn politics," he said,
such as volunteering on a campaign or working as a
poll volunteer on Election Day.
Kay Stimson, director of the New Millennium
Young Voters Project at the National Association of
Secretaries of State, said she was glad lowering the
voting age is getting more attention than it has since
1971.
"Any movement that gets young people involved in
the electoral process is definitely a positive one," she
said.
Getting teenagers in the habit of voting will make
them lifetime voters, advocates say. And school
provides the perfect place to train future voters, both
in civics and the basic logistics of voting. A Yale
University study last year found that students shown
how to operate a voting machine were more than
twice as likely to vote as students who weren't
shown.
By lowering the voting age to 16, "you might be able
to make voting part of a civics education class," said
Mark Lopez, research director at the Center for
Information and Research on Civic Learning and
Engagement.
Lowering the voting age might have little effect on
the presidential race. Polls have shown young voters
about as split as their elders. If they differ at all, they
tend to be more libertarian - more tolerant of gay
marriage, for example, and more supportive of
privatizing Social Security.
After all, most teenagers have a leave-me-alone
attitude that could be described politically as
libertarian, said James Gimpel, an expert on young
voters at the University of Maryland.
Gimpel, who has forecast the possible crash in voter
turnout, said he was intrigued with the idea of
lowering the voting age but not sure of its impact.
The 26th Amendment, Yes or No?
Are 18 year-olds ready to vote?
People who were going to be likely voters anyway
might just start earlier.
"I suspect that the offspring of active parents would
be inclined to pretty much follow their parental
preferences," he said. "Most of these kids would be
knock-offs of their parents."
The effect might be huge in areas where voters set
school budgets or tax rates.
After all, Caroline DuWors said, if a recent tax
referendum hadn't passed in May 2003, her peers
would have felt it the most. She and her fellow
students pushed adults to vote yes but having their
own vote would have helped even more.
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
"If the levy didn't pass, class sizes would increase,
numerous clubs would have been cut, and sports fees
would have doubled," she said.
Most of the attempts to lower the voting age
probably are doomed, at least in the short term, said
Tim Storey of the National Conference of State
Legislatures, which has no stand on the issue. But in
the long run, it may happen. After all, it took
decades to get the right to vote for nonwhites,
women and then 18-year-olds.
"It's one of those things states are going to want to
think about," he said.
The 26th Amendment, Yes or No?
Are 18 year-olds ready to vote?
16-year-olds voting? Totally!
Tacoma Washington News Tribune
Political Buzz Blog
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
Posted by Niki Sullivan @ 05:03:47 pm
I just visited with Tami Green. The Lakewood
Democrat and former Western State Hospital psych
nurse has introduced two bills (well, four ... but two
for the purpose of our discussion) that could change
the face of voting in the state.
Specifically, the face would be more Clearasil than
Geritol. OK, one of the bills would allow 16-yearolds to vote.
"It won't pass," she said. And she's paid for even
introducing it. "I've been getting my share of
razzing" from fellow lawmakers, she said.
The other bill would allow 17-year-olds to vote in a
primary if they'll be 18 by the time the general
election rolls around. Other states have similar laws,
and she thinks that one has a chance of passing -there's even a slight chance it could happen before
the presidential election.
I wondered what Tami's interest in the very-young
vote was. Turns out they're from the Legislative
Youth Advisory Council, a group of 14-18 year old
Washington students who meet to make suggestions
to the Legislature about issues important to youth.
Although she said the 16-year-old voting bill
probably doesn't have a snowball's chance of
passing, she isn't just introducing it as a courtesy.
[More:]
"Let's open the conversation. If some other countries
are doing it and they have greater participation,"
then why not at least talk about it.
"When they're 16, they're learning about
government," she said. They're also getting their first
jobs and, in turn, experiencing the joy of taxes.
Voting is "a good way for kids to engage."
They're aiming to have a hearing on the bills on Jan.
30 to coincide with a Legislative Youth Action
Council day at the capitol. We'll keep you posted. In
the meantime, here are links to the bills (one bill for
each idea, plus one bill to change the [Washington
state] Constitution for each idea): HJR 4225, HB
2663, HB 2662 and HJR 4226. Phew, that's a lot of
links.
http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/politics/2008/01/16/16_year_olds_voting_totally
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
Germany’s Bremen lets 16-year-olds vote to boost turnout
BERLIN: Fri May 20, 2011 9:19am EDT
(Reuters) - For the first time in Germany, people as young as 16 years old will be able to vote in a state election
Sunday when citizens of the northern city-state of Bremen head to the polls.
State and federal elections require voters to be 18 years old but the new law in Bremen, where 16-year-olds
have long been eligible to vote in local elections, went into effect last year.
One of the reasons behind extending the vote to younger people was to combat low voter turnout, a trend
throughout Germany, said Social Democrat (SPD) spokesman Andre Staedler.
The teens are not, however, expected to noticeably influence the election. There are only 10,000 eligible 16 and
17-year-old voters in the electorate of 500,000.
A spate of regional election defeats for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats this year
have sent shockwaves all the way to Berlin, but analysts do not expect the Bremen election to cause a major
surprise.
Polls indicate Social Democratic Mayor Jens Boehrnsen has little to worry about losing his seat in the Hanseatic
city his party has ruled since 1945.
The center-left SPD was running at 36 percent in the most recent poll, 12 points ahead of its nearest challenger,
current junior coalition partner the Greens.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey)
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
February 6, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
You’re 16, You’re Beautiful and
You’re a Voter
By ANYA KAMENETZ
THE 2008 presidential campaign has made history in many
ways, not least being the arrival of a new generation at the
polls. Voters under 29 were the first to anoint Barack Obama
as their candidate. Reversing a general decline that began in
1972, youth turnout leapt in 2004, and in the early contests
in this primary season it was up sharply.
We should hasten the enfranchisement of this generation,
born between 1980 and 1995, by lowering the voting age to
16.
Age thresholds are meant to bring an impartial data point
to bear on insoluble moral questions: who can be legally
executed, who can die in Iraq, who can operate the meat
cutter at the local sub shop. But in a time when both
youth and age are being extended, these dividing lines are
increasingly inadequate.
Legal age requirements should never stand alone. They
should be flexible and pragmatic and paired with educational
and cognitive requirements for the exercise of legal maturity.
Driving laws provide the best model for combining early
beginnings and mandatory education. Many states have
had success with a gradual phasing in of driving rights over
a year or more, starting with a learner’s permit at age 16.
The most restrictive of these programs are associated with
a 38 percent reduction in fatal crashes among the youngest
drivers, according to a study conducted by the AAA
Foundation for Traffic Safety.
Similarly, 16-year-olds who want to start voting should
be able to obtain an “early voting permit” from their high
schools upon passing a simple civics course similar to the
citizenship test. Besides increasing voter registration, this
system would reinforce the notion of voting as a privilege
and duty as well as a right — without imposing any acrossthe-board literacy tests for those over 18.
And why stop at voting? Sixteen is a good starting point for
phasing in adult rights and responsibilities, from voting to
drinking to marriage. In reality, this is already when most
people have their first jobs, their first drinks and their sexual
initiations. The law ought to empower young people to
negotiate these transitions openly, not furtively.
We know driving laws reflect reality; whoever heard of
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
the scourge of under-age driving? On the other hand,
studies have shown that three-fourths of high school
seniors have drunk alcohol. Surveys show that
teenagers who drink at home with their families go
on to drink less than those who sneak beers with
friends. Imagine 16-year-olds receiving a drinking
permit upon passage of a mandatory course about
alcoholism. The permit would allow a tipple only at
family gatherings or school functions for two years
— until you graduate or leave home.
The phasing in of credit cards at 16 could work
with firm restrictions. A parental co-signer should
be required until young applicants have made a
year of on-time payments from their own wages.
The most important requirement would be passing
a mandatory financial literacy test. The applicant
would define “compound interest,” correctly
decipher the fine print on a credit card agreement
and argue with a robotic customer service
representative over a mysterious fee. Surely this
graduated system would be safer than handing
young people a $2,000 line of credit just as they
leave home for the first time.
The more we treat teenagers as adults, the more
they rise to our expectations. From a developmental
and vocational point of view, the late teens are
the right starting point for young people to think
seriously about their futures. Government can
help this process by bestowing rights along with
responsibilities.
Tying adult rights to cognitive requirements could
also smooth the path to dealing with a much bigger
age-related social problem. Demographically,
those over 85 are our fastest-growing group. By
2020, the entire nation will be about as silverhaired as Florida is today. We need to be able to
test Americans of all ages, to make sure they’re
still qualified to drive and to help them avoid
financial scammers. From a public health point of
view, the silver tsunami poses more of a threat than
marauding teenagers ever did.
Anya Kamenetz, a staff writer for Fast Company, is
the author of “Generation Debt.”
Should 16-Year-Olds Have The Right To Vote?
by Desiree Bailey
05 May 2006
When I turn 18 next year, one of the first things I will do
is to register to vote. To me, voting shows that a person
belongs to a society. It symbolizes maturity and gives the
voter a voice among millions. I have a year before I will
have that voice, but what if I could vote right now? The
idea of voting as a 16 or 17-year-old never crossed my
mind until I heard about a group of New York City teens
fighting for the right to vote in city elections. When I
found out that some of these teenagers were gathering at
City Hall to draw attention to their cause, I decided to see
what they were all about.
On the steps of City Hall, I met the passionate group of
teen members of “Future Voters of America”. The teens
at the rally told me that since they live in a country that
prides itself on being democratic, they should be able to
participate in that democracy. They felt their needs and
ideas were being overlooked by the city.
But they are not being overlooked by City
Councilmember Gale Brewer, who has re-introduced
legislation to allow 16 and 17-year olds to vote in local
elections. New York City would be the first city in the
United States to bestow this right, though a similar effort
is underway in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and 16-yearolds already have the right to vote in local elections in
nations as different as Israel, Germany and Brazil. In Iran,
kids as young as 15 are reportedly allowed to participate
in elections.
“A 13-year-old can be tried as an adult. A 16-year-old can
drive and have a job,” Brewer said. “Teens need to have a
say in the policies and decisions that affect their lives.”
The legislation is now in committee and if the City
Council passes it and Mayor Michael Bloomberg signs
it into law, Brewer estimates that as many as 200,000
16- and 17-year-olds would have the right to vote in city
elections.
Brewer stood by her teen supporters at the recent rally
at City Hall to draw attention to teen voting rights. And
in a letter to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn,
Brewer argued that the legislation would encourage more
Lesson suggested by Kids Voting Central Ohio, 2011
teens to get involved in local issues. “Their voices
would be heard on key issues such as education,
housing, community development and environmental
concerns,” she wrote. “If given a chance to vote, the
youth could increase their interest in civic life and
continue voting in future years. It is often argued that
many 18 to 20 year olds do not vote because they
have not been exposed to involvement in political
participation. This bill would address this issue.”
Students at the rally such as Eidia Monei from La
Guardia High School and Aneeba Rehman from
Hunter College agreed, arguing they are mature and
knowledgeable enough to cast a ballot on issues such
as public housing and the environment.
City Councilmember James Oddo of Staten Island is
one of those opposed to the legislation. “We applaud
the young activists who have such a strong interest in
government, and we wish more of their classmates felt
as strongly as they do,” wrote Christopher DeSicco,
spokeman for Oddo’s office. “However, they appear
to be the exception and not the rule, and we believe
extending the franchise to teenagers under the age
of 18 is simply bad public policy. The election of
municipal officers is serious business and the city’s
elected officials must approve a budget that now
exceeds $50 billion annually. The choices made
will affect the city for years. We cannot leave such
important decisions to kids who are still in high school
and who may not yet even have a basic understanding
of basic American government.”
I myself am not sure that teens would take advantage
of their voting rights. Of course, many adults don’t
either. The teens who would be mostly likely to
vote if the voting age is lowered do have strong
opinions and ideas about public policies. And, say the
advocates of a lower voting age, teens would bring
a fresh new perspective to politics, their energy and
spirit reminding adults of the excitement they once
felt when they saw a world before them ready to be
changed.
Desiree Bailey is a junior at Benjamin Cardozo High
School in Queens, and a writer for the teen-written
magazine New Youth Connections, published by Youth
Communication.