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Common Core: RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.3, RH.6-8.4, RH.6-8.5, RH.6-8.7, RH.6-8.8, WHST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.4, WHST.6-8.9, RI.6-8.1, RI.6-8.2, RI.6-8.3, RI.6-8.4, RI.6-8.5, RI.6-8.6, RI.6-8.7, RI.6-8.8, RI.6-8.9, W.6-8.1, W.6-8.4, W.6-8.9

NCSS: Culture • Time, Continuity, and Change • Individuals, Groups, and Institutions • Power, Authority, and Governance • Civic Ideals and Practices

U.S. NEWS | CIVICS

Election 2024

Let Us Vote!

Teens across the United States are on a mission to lower the voting age. Learn whyand how their efforts could impact you

Question: What reasons do teens give for wanting to vote?

Brian Fraser/The New York Times/Redux

Nathaniel Esubonteng, 17

Campaigned to lower the voting age for school board elections in Newark, New Jersey

Nathaniel Esubonteng felt determined as he approached the podium at his community’s city council meeting this past winter. The high school student from Newark, New Jersey, wanted a say in how his local school board is runand this was his chance to make his voice heard.

School board members have a hand in everything from what students are served for lunch to the types of classes they are taught. But for decades, only Newark residents ages 18 and older have had a voice in electing members. Nathaniel and other young teens didn’t think that was fair.

In a brief but impassioned speech, Nathaniel urged the city’s leaders to lower the voting age to 16 for Newark school board elections.

We’re at school eight hours a day with no real input in the things that are happening there,” says Nathaniel, 17. “I want young people to have a seat at the tableto have more control over their futures and the decisions being made about their education.”

The Fight for Voting Rights
Watch a video about the history of voting rights in the United States.

In the United States, the voting age for all federal elections and most local and state elections is 18. But a growing number of 16- and 17-year-olds across the country have been pushing for the right to cast ballots. Some of these teens have been at the forefront of environmental marches, protests against gun violence, and other demonstrations. Many are also politically active on social mediaand want a chance to express their opinions at the polls

Teens see that people like them matter to our communities and democracy,” says Abby Kiesa. She is a researcher who studies youth voting trends at the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University in Massachusetts. “These dynamics may motivate youth to find ways to have a voice in their community, such as through voting.”

Campaigns for Change

The voting age for federal elections has been 18 since 1971 (seeKey Moments: The Voting Ageslideshow, below). That means you have to be at least that old to vote for president, vice president, and members of the U.S. Congress. But cities and states have control over their own elections. They can set their voting ageas long as it isn’t higher than 18for positions such as mayor, city council member, and other local offices.

Slideshow

The first U.S. city to lower its voting age to 16 was Takoma Park, Maryland. In 2013, lawmakers there gave 16- and 17-year-olds the right to cast ballots in local elections after a number of teens in the town lobbied for voting rights. Since receiving that right, young people in Takoma Park have voted at higher rates than all registered voters. During the city’s 2022 election, 63 percent of registered 16- and 17-year-olds voted, compared with 49 percent of all registered voters

Takoma Park’s success has inspired other teens nationwide. In 2015, young people helped form a national group, Vote16USA, to coordinate similar teen-led efforts to lower the voting age in communities across the country. And over the past several years, they have had some success. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds have won the right to vote in a number of other U.S. cities and towns, including Riverdale Park, Maryland, in 2018, and Brattleboro, Vermont, in 2023.

Robert Rottenberg

Julia Rottenberg, 18

Fighting to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in Culver City, California

Teens in Culver City, California, hope their community will be next. They have their own branch of Vote16USA, called Vote16 Culver City. When this issue went to press, members of Vote16 Culver City were collecting signatures on a petition calling for a measure to be included on the ballot in next month’s election. That measure would let voters decide whether 16- and 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote in local elections.

The last time such a measure appeared on a Culver City ballot, in 2022, it lost by just 16 votes.

Julia Rottenberg, who was president of Vote16 Culver City until she graduated from high school this past spring, says the loss just motivated the group more.

Each individual voice really does matter and can make a difference in a community,” the 18-year-old says. “Obviously, change is hard, but if the work wasn’t hard, it wouldn’t be as important.”

Each individual voice really does matter and can make a difference in a community.” 

Julia Rottenberg, 18

Inspired to Act 

Courtesy Paul Neevel/Eugene Weekly

Devon Lawson, 17

Working with lawmakers to lower Oregon’s voting age to 16

Devon Lawson, 17, knows about hard work. The teen from Finn Rock, Oregon, has volunteered on roughly 25 political campaigns since he was in the fifth grade

When Devon was in middle school, he heard about teens in other parts of the country trying to gain the right to vote. That inspired him to act. He decided to try writing a bill to amend Oregon’s constitution to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local and state elections.

In 2022, Devon teamed up with state representative Rob Nosse. The lawmaker worked with him on drafting the bill and eventually helped introduce it in the Oregon Legislature. The bill stalled last year, which means it didn’t advance. But Devon isn’t giving up. As some lawmakers consider reintroducing the bill next year, he’s working to gather even more support in his state for a lower voting age.

For Devon, being able to vote is about having a say in critical issues that his generation will inherit, such as climate change. He says he doesn’t want to wait until he’s 18 for his opinion to count.

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds are part of a politically active generation,” Devon told reporters. “We can make informed decisions on the ballot.” 

Too Young to Vote

However, many people are against the idea of lowering the voting age. Critics say the majority of 16- and 17-year-olds don’t know enough about the issues and how the government works to be informed voters.

Others point to scientific findings showing that 16-year-olds’ brains and their decision-making skills aren’t fully developed. This has led many states to actually raise the age that teens are allowed to do certain things. For example, to drive without restrictions in most states, you have to be 17 or 18. Only a few decades ago, the age was 16 in many places

John Cosgrove is a former state senator in Virginia, where there have been recent teen-led efforts to lower the voting age. “I think 18 is a reasonable age [to vote],” he told reporters. “That’s when a person is considered an adult. They can join the military, they can do a lot of different things. But 16- and 17-year-olds are still minors.”

Teens Deserve a Say 

Carlos Moreno/KCUR

DJ Yearwood, 18

Seeking to lower the voting age for local elections in Missouri

Still, supporters of lowering the voting age say teens deserve a voice. They point out that 16- and 17-year-olds who work pay taxes on their wages, just like adults do

What’s more, many teens are currently enrolled in high school government and civics classes, where they are studying how elections work. People in favor of allowing younger teens to cast ballots say it would help them put what they’re learning in the classroom to use in the real world.

That was a big motivator for DJ Yearwood of Kansas City, Missouri. He’s on a mission to lower the voting age in his state for city and school board elections. Last year, he founded a branch of Vote16USA. That organization, Vote16MO, is made up of 150 student volunteers across Missouri.

DJ says that allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to cast ballots in local elections will help motivate them to vote in federal elections when they are older. Several studies show that the earlier in life people vote for the first time, the likelier voting is to become a lifelong habit.

Once teens have that ability to voteand if they’re able to begin voting while they’re still learning about civics in schoolthey’ll be more likely to seek out information themselves and keep voting,” the 18-year-old says.

More Than Civic Duty

Brian Fraser/The New York Times/Redux

Breanna Campbell, 17

Mobilizing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in Newark, New Jersey

Back in Newark, teens are ready to start voting. Earlier this year, the city council voted unanimously to lower the voting age to 16 for school board elections. The decision was thanks in part to input from Nathaniel and other young people. The historic move makes Newarkwith a population of more than 300,000 peoplethe largest community in the U.S. to expand voting rights to young people in more than 50 years.

When this issue went to press, Newark election officials were programming the city’s voting registration machines to allow roughly 7,000 16- and 17-year-olds to enroll. That’s how many young teens will be eligible to vote in the city’s school board election next spring.

In the meantime, teens like Nathaniel and his friend Breanna Campbell are working to mobilize as many local 16- and 17-year-olds as possible to exercise their new right.

Both students are members of the Gem Project, an organization in Newark that works to engage young people in community service efforts. Along with other Gem Project members, they are volunteering at voter registration drives and helping to organize events where teens can learn more about the candidates

Breanna, 17, believes school board members need to prioritize more mental health services for students. She says she’sextra motivatedto cast her first ballot

Voting is more than civic duty,” she says. “It’s a powerful way to shape the world around us and make our democracy more vibrant and inclusive.” 

YOUR TURN

Voting Age Essay Contest

Underline or highlight two arguments for and against lowering the voting age to 16. Then decide: Should the voting age be lowered? Write a short essay explaining your answer. Use evidence from the article and additional research to support your claim. Three winners will each get a JS notebook!

Note: Entries must be created by a student in grades 4-12 and submitted by their teacher, parent, or legal guardian, who will be the entrant and must be a legal resident of the U.S. age 18 or older. Click here for details.

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