[ [link removed] ]Tell Congress: Lower the voting age to 16

Petition to Congress:
"Lower the voting age to 16."

Add your name:

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition ►

Dear Jack,

[ [link removed] ]Lower the voting age to
16

The boldest, fiercest leaders fighting climate change: young people.

The most unapologetic, untiring champions against gun violence: young
people.

The advocates leading the charge against racism, xenophobia and
homophobia: young people.

Sixteen and 17-year-olds have a huge stake in the decisions of our
democracy – but they don't have a voice in them.^1 That needs to change,
and progressive champion Rep. Ayanna Pressley is calling on Congress to
act.

[ [link removed] ]Tell Congress: Lower the voting age to 16. Click here to sign the
petition.

When the American experiment first started, suffrage was limited to white,
wealthy and land-owning men. The story of our democracy is one of
expanding the right to vote, slowly and imperfectly. It took centuries
before Black Americans and women had the legal right to cast a ballot.
Today, the promise of suffrage still isn't real for too many young people,
people of color, low-income voters, the formerly incarcerated and
immigrants. We need to fight to protect voting rights even as we seek to
expand them.^2

Lowering the voting age to 16 makes perfect sense:^3,4

 1. Young people have so much at stake. Sixteen and 17-year-olds will
spend decades dealing with the destructive effects of climate change.
They already bear the brunt of their elders' failure to confront gun
violence, including police violence. One glance at the advocacy of
young people around the world shows their commitment to fighting for a
better future.
 2. We've done it before. The voting age in most of the United States was
21 until 1971, when the 26th Amendment lowered the age to 18. Today,
16-year-olds can drive vehicles and pay taxes – but they aren't
allowed a say in the decisions that affect their lives.
 3. It will foster civic participation. Many young people are better
informed and more engaged than the average American voter. By 16 years
of age, the human brain has developed the ability to conduct rational,
objective analysis of the kind needed to vote. Starting to vote when
young adults still live at home makes it easier to build a lifelong
habit of voting before the tumultuous years that often follow turning
18.

Progressive champion Rep. Ayanna Pressley is leading the push in Congress
to lower the voting age. "From gun violence, to immigration reform, to
climate change, to the future of work," she says, "our young people are
organizing, mobilizing and calling us to action. They are at the forefront
of social and legislative movements and have earned inclusion in our
democracy."^5

Tell Congress: Lower the voting age to 16. Click the link below to sign
the petition:

[ [link removed] ][link removed]

Thank you for speaking out,

Heidi Hess, Co-Director
[ [link removed] ]CREDO Action from Working Assets

Add your name:

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition ►

References:

 1. Kelsey Piper, "[ [link removed] ]Young people have a stake in our future. Let them
vote." Vox, Sept. 20, 2019.
 2. Ibid.
 3. Ibid.
 4. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, "[ [link removed] ]Rep. Pressley's Floor Remarks on Lowering
the Voting Age," March 7, 2019.
 5. Ibid.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ [link removed] ]FB [ [link removed] ]Share on Facebook
Post to your wall
[ [link removed] ]Tw [ [link removed] ]Tweet this
Post to Twitter

[1]CREDO action

© 2019 CREDO. All rights reserved.

This email was sent to [email protected].

To change your email or mailing address, please click here: [link removed]

To unsubscribe, please visit our subscription management page at: [link removed]