Team,

Across this nation, young people are leading the way; from gun violence, to climate change, to the future of work — they are organizing, mobilizing, and calling us urgently to action. But — for all their committed advocacy and activism — they are still denied the opportunity to vote for their representatives in federal government.

Now and into the future, young people will be profoundly impacted by policy decisions that are being made today in the halls of Congress and the White House. That’s why I’ve called for lowering the voting age in federal elections from 18 to 16 years old.

ADD YOUR NAME: Tell Congress to lower the voting age from 18 to 16!

In this country, we affirm that when a person walks into the voting booth and pulls that lever, there is no meritocracy or hierarchy. As my mother so often reminded me when I stood by her side in our local polling place — on Election Day, we are all powerful. I believed her then and I believe her now.

And I believe it is essential that our government reflect the diversity and lived experience of young people across the country.

Just like those two years older, 16-year-olds experience the fear that a parent’s insulin will run out before the next paycheck.

They feel the hope of being the first in their family to earn a college degree, but the trepidation of how to pay for it.

They know the reality of picking up shifts waiting tables to support their family while a parent is deployed.

They remember their classmates whose lives were stolen by a gunman.

ADD YOUR NAME: We must lower the federal voting age to 16!

This isn’t a radical idea. When our nation was founded, voting was restricted to white, male land-owners. The minimum voting age in federal elections was 21 until 1970. There is a long history of marginalized groups reaching for the ballot — striving to make their voices heard in federal elections.

Now is the time for us to match the courage and conviction of 16 year olds across the country by empowering them to cast a vote for their representatives in Washington, DC.

In Solidarity,

Ayanna Pressley