PressEthic

An article written by a teenager in the Gotham Gazette outlined the re-introduction of a bill to lower the voting age to 16 in local elections. If the bill is passed, New York's 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in the upcoming November elections.

How does the system define voting age in the first place? By what criteria does one measure political awareness and maturity? How did the government come to decide that 18 is the age at which Americans are old enough to make informed political decisions?

I recently met a group of kids from Children's PressLine, an organization that allows kids to create their own journalism on topics and issues that they care about. It lets them have a voice in the media by telling politicians what issues kids are concerned about.

I don't know what it is, but the majority of teenagers I have met in New York City have been incredibly intelligent, well-spoken, and passionate about things going on in the world. It could be where I've been meeting them, or perhaps teens in NYC in particular are more involved in community issues than where I moved from.

Either way, I think these kids deserve to vote just as much as I do. While the majority of adult New Yorkers are at work, teens are at school learning about the environment, the U.S. government and history, current events, economics, science, and politics. These things are fresh in their minds; they're learning about them for the first time. Their minds are well-informed, and I believe they would make good voters.

Brewer stood by her teen supporters at the recent rally at City Hall to draw attention to teen voting rights. And in a letter to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Brewer argued that the legislation would encourage more teens to get involved in local issues. “Their voices would be heard on key issues such as education, housing, community development and environmental concerns,” she wrote. “If given a chance to vote, the youth could increase their interest in civic life and continue voting in future years. It is often argued that many 18 to 20 year olds do not vote because they have not been exposed to involvement in political participation. This bill would address this issue.”

Would this bill address this issue? Perhaps if youth were given more outlets to voice their opinions in the mainstream, they would be inspired to get involved in civic life earlier on. Small organizations like Children's PressLine are hard to come by and unknown. It seems that if there were more opportunities for youth to foster their passion for political issues outside of school, they would be more involved and more capable of forming mature political opinions.

There has to be a portion of the adult population that isn't going to exercise their right to vote this November. There is, undeniably, a portion that is not as informed about the issues and candidates as they should be. Shouldn't youth, who have taken the time to be informed, be allowed to use that?

I don't think the bill will be passed; time is running out. However, I definitely see a social movement among youth today, and I think this will catch up to us and translate into a strong young voice in the political world and in the journalism world.