New York City Making History-- Lower Voting Age to be Proposed on June 8

[OzzyKP]

We thought that youth everywhere would want to know
about the history being made on Wednesday June 8th:

New York City council member Gale Brewer will
introduce a bill to LOWER the voting age to 16 in
America's largest city!

A news conference on the steps of City Hall is planned
for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday to announce the bill. Later,
at about 1 p.m., the bill will be formally proposed to
the council.

Among those who may attend is U.S. Senator Hillary
Rodham Clinton!

Leading the movement to lower the voting age in New
York City is the National Youth Rights Association
(NYRA), a youth-led civil rights organization of over
5,000 members nationwide.

NYRA has been at the forefront of efforts for a lower
voting age in the United States. Earlier this year,
NYRA members in Olympia, Washington sought to lower
their state's voting age, and our NYRA-Berkeley,
California chapter has pursued a lower voting age in
that city and in San Francisco. To learn more about
NYRA, go to http://www.youthrights.org

We are encouraging all New York City youth to attend
or get involved in spreading the word.

Why should the voting age be lowered?

--At least 80 percent of high school students work
before graduation; they pay taxes but have no say in
where their tax dollars go.

--Youth are particularly affected by certain issues,
like education and the environment, yet have no power
to elect the leaders who must address these concerns.

--Youth have the knowledge and maturity to vote: most
have taken courses in history, government, law and/or
economics.

--A voting age of 16 encourage a life-long voting
habit: most 16 year-olds live with their families and
have a vested interest in their local communities.
Most 18 year-olds have moved to brand new communities
and are overwhelmed by the pressures of full-time
employment or college. Thus, they lack the time to
thoroughly examine issues and candidates.

--Youth will turnout and vote if given the chance:
when Hanover, Germany lowered its voting age to 16,
turnout among 16 and 17 year-olds (56 percent)
exceeded turnout by 18- to 25-year-olds (49 percent).
In America, when Minneapolis, Minnesota let students
cast a mock vote at the polling place in a school
board election, the students' turnout (40%) far
exceeded adult turnout (6%).

Around the world, governments have awoken on this
issue and are seriously considering a lower voting age
in the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany. We believe
that New York City, America's largest city and the
"World's Second Home," is the perfect place to try
this bold initiative.

If you have any questions or would like to get
involved in our efforts, please email us at
votingage@youthrights.org

Thanks,

National Youth Rights Association

http://www.youthrights.org

[Lawrence of Arabia]

that post makes some good points.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

and i used to think that you guys were just a bunch of crackpots

[chequita guevara]

[Kuciwalker]

not letting your paragraphs be wide enough to fit the screen

[OzzyKP]

And because I like y'all I'll even give you a sneak peak at our new Talking Points publication. We are getting it ready in time for the New York thing. Its not done yet, and I'm sure the formatting will be all messed up, but enjoy:



Voting Age Talking Points

I. Why the Voting Age Should be Lowered to Sixteen

1. Youth NEED the Right to Vote

$ 80% of sixteen and seventeen year-olds work at some point before graduation. 61% of teenagers work during the school year.

$ Youth pay taxes but have no say in how that tax money is spent.

$ Youth will be deeply affected by decisions about social security, but cannot vote to insure that the money they contribute today will be there for them when they retire.

$ Youth have strongly held views about the environment, but have no voice in determining the leaders who must protect it.

$ Youth are most directly impacted by decisions regarding education policy. As students, they have the best perspective to see what reforms are needed but have no input in choosing what changes are made.

$ Teenagers have a tremendous stake in America’s foreign policy decisions. In the war with Iraq, at least 169 soldiers died without being able to cast a vote for or against the president who sent them to fight: they turned eighteen after the 2000 Presidential election, and died before the 2004 election.

2. Youth Have the Political Knowledge to Vote Intelligently

$ Youth are enrolled in school, taking history, government, law and/or economics.

$ When students are taught a full course curriculum, they come to know MORE about politics and government than adults

Example: Students who took comprehensive We the People (“WTP�) constitutional law program scored BETTER than adults 18-80 in knowledge of government and politics. See Table below

Question WTP Students Answering Correctly Adults (18-80) Answering Correctly
Could name the vice-president 96% 74%
Understood “Judicial Review� 96% 66%
Knew Two-Thirds Veto Override Requirement 87% 34%
Knew which political party controlled the House of Representatives 68% 68%
Could explain political party ideology 87% 57%

$ High school students are more than qualified enough to vote: the federal Voting Rights Acts of 1965 (42 U.S.C. § 1971(c)) states that:


any person who has not been adjudged an incompetent and who has completed the sixth grade in a public school in, or a private school accredited by, any State or territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico where instruction is carried on predominantly in the English language, possesses sufficient literacy, comprehension, and intelligence to vote in any election.


Even ignoring the issue of youth knowledge of politics, adults who are ignorant about political issues are not kept from voting. For example, polls have shown that about 70% of adults can’t name their own state’s senators. Another poll found that three-quarters of Americans could not name their House member. A third showed almost two-thirds of adults could not name any United States Supreme Court justices. Adults are even more confused on the issues themselves. In the Washington Post poll, adults mistakenly thought foreign aid made up 26% of the budget (it made up only 2%). If adults lack even basic knowledge of who represents them, how can youth be classified as not knowledgeable enough to vote?

3. Youth Have the Maturity Needed to Vote

• Youth become physically mature at an earlier age. For example, the average age of puberty has declined from 16 ½ in the mid 19th-century, to
15 in 1900 to about 12 today.

• Today’s youth are smarter than their parents’ generation. Studies conducted by Professor James Flynn have that IQ scores grew by 17 points during the period 1947 through 2001, with the increase accelerating to 0.36 points per year in the 1990’s. In other words, a child scoring in the top 25% in an IQ test today, would score in the top 3% of an IQ test in 1932. Experts have suggested an explanation to this trend: the explosion of new media, television and particularly the internet, which challenge youth’s cognitive senses and problem solving abilities.

• Youth are treated like adults in many respects. Sixteen year-olds are allowed to drive in 48 states. Youth sixteen (or even younger) are tried as adults for serious crimes in many states. [add a bit more].

4. Youth Want the Right to Vote and Will Turnout

$ 73% of 12-17 year olds in a Washington Post survey were very interested or fairly interested in politics. 95% of these young people viewed voting in a presidential election as very important or fairly important.

$ Teens support a lower voting age: 73% of 12-17 year-olds in 1991 Minneapolis mock election supported a voting age of 16.

$ Teens will turnout and vote:

$ Germany- Several states lowered the voting age to 16 for local elections, with higher turnout for voters under eighteen than eighteen-twenty-five.

 City of Hanover (1996) 16-17 year-olds (56.5% turnout), 18-24 year-olds (49.1% turnout).
 City of Braunscheig (1996), 16-17 year-olds (50.4% turnout), 18-24 year-olds (44.5% turnout).
 In Saxony-Anhelt (1999) (all major cities), 16-17 year-olds (33% turnout), 18-21 year-olds (32% turnout), 21-25 year-olds (24% turnout).

$ Austria- City of Graz, January 2003- 16-17 year-olds turned out at a higher rate (58%) than all voters (57%).

$ USA- For the most part, turnout among American youth must be examined by comparing mock election turnout number with adult turnout.

 Minneapolis School Board Election (1991)- 12-17 year olds (40% turnout ), Adults (5.6% turnout);
 Washington D.C. (1991) (Kids Voting Mock Election)- students (50%+), Adults (40%);
 Baltimore, 2003- an actual election where some 16 and 17 year-olds were able to vote in the mayoral primary because they would be 18 by the time of the general election (more than one year later). Turnout: 35% of registered 16 and 17 year-olds turned out versus 36% of the general population.

4. Youth Voting Will Increase Adult Turnout

$ Studies taken on the Kids Voting program have shown that the mock election program has increased parental turnout. A 1996 survey found that that between five and ten percent of respondents reported Kids Voting was a factor in their decision to vote. This indicated that 600,000 adults nationwide were encouraged to vote by the program. Another study found that this increase in voting resulted from dinner-time conversations between parents and children over political issues learned from Kids Voting, and this impact was strongest among the group least likely to vote, parents from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Thus, a lower voting age will increase turnout among those least likely to vote.

[Jonny]

Some very good points there

[Lancer]

In 16 years, most of which were spent either pooing oneself, shooting spitballs in school or fanticising over a girl that devolped a bit too fast, what event has prepared a person to make a choice regarding who should run the civilization?

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Lancer
In 16 18 years, most of which were spent either pooing oneself, shooting spitballs in school or fanticising over a girl that devolped a bit too fast, what event has prepared a person to make a choice regarding who should run the civilization?

[Lancer]

I'm all for making it 25 as a minimum. Raising the minimum age for military would help end the absurd arguement that anyone who is required to lay down their lives should have a say on who their leaders are. Killing takes comaratively little life experience, voting takes alot.

[Lancer]

Why not just lower it to 10? 5?

[Ted Striker]

Ozzy what are you going to do when you get old?

[Kuciwalker]

Campaigning for elder rights, since us youth'll take 'em all away when we get the vote

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by OzzyKP
4. Youth Want the Right to Vote and Will Turnout
$ Teens will turnout and vote:

Really? That doesn't seem to have been substantiated by real numbers from actual elections in the US.

[Kuciwalker]

You're right, for some reason the 16-18 group was completely absent in the last Presidential election