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5 Changing the World

Bill Bystricky When 16-Year-Olds Vote, We All Benefit, 11
David Hogg The Road to Change, 15
Amber Tamblyn I’m not Ready for the Redemption of Men, 20 section one

When 16-Year-Olds Vote, We All Benefit

Bill Bystricky

Bill Bystricky is a writer living in Maryland. He has written about
youth rights for Yes! , Wiretap , and The Pro-Youth Pages , among
Courtesy of Bill Bystricky
other publications. He is the founder of Growing Democracy, a
group that assists youth seeking to lower the voting age.

he March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C., Kids will just
Ton March 24, when high school students vote the same way
rallied against gun violence, demonstrated that their parents do , claim parents who overestimate
teenage citizens have voices that deserve to be their influence. But ScotCen Social Research’s
1
heard and needs that deserve to be addressed by 2013 study of 16-year-old voters in Scotland
our leaders. In order for teenagers to have a fighting found they were no more influenced by their
chance at winning, however, they need votes. parents than older voters were.
Several nations, including Austria, Teenagers would just vote for celebrities ,
Argentina, and Brazil, already have 16-year-olds claim others. But exit polls show it was voters
voting, and the United States is slowly moving in over 40 who elected a reality TV star as
2
that direction, with one city at a time president and an action movie star as governor
3
implementing a voting age of 16. of California . In both elections, the youngest
While progress is slow, the benefits are clear. voters voted for more qualified candidates.
Teenagers, not yet distracted by the stresses of Kids’ brains aren’t fully developed yet , claim
college or full-time work, have the time and have people who get their science news from
supportive adults around to help them navigate the Facebook. But actual scientists know better.
complexities of voter registration. By starting their
voting lives at a time when it’s easy, youth begin a
1 Eichorn, Jan. “Will 16 and 17 Year Olds Make a Difference in the
habit of voting instead of a habit of staying home. Referendum?” ScotCen Social Research, November 2013. http://
It should be no surprise, then, that the voter- www.scotcen.org.uk/media/205540/131129_will-16-and-17-years-
suppression crowd hates the #Vote16 movement. olds-make-a-difference.pdf
2 Roper Center. “How Groups Voted in 2016.” https://ropercenter.
I helped organize campaigns that lowered 5 cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-2016
the voting age to 16 in three Maryland cities, and 3 Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International. “California

in every case, the same arguments were used Recall Election Exit Poll.” The Washington Post , October 7, 2003.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/
against us. replacementballotexitpoll.html
11
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