Here we are! We’ve have completed the 16th run of #16tovote on the 16th! A few regular participants were absent, and there were a couple of dissenters (one nice, one obnoxious), but other than that, went about as well as usual, touching on a lot of the great points we have in the past, plus some always welcome silliness. One point brought up this time was that when discussing the voting age, you can’t escape also thinking about the value of voting and democracy in general, what it means to be enfranchised, what, if anything, should be the threshold one must pass in order to exercise this sacred right. While even I admit doing this every month can feel repetitive, it’s always a new set of participants, always including new ones, and through these different perspectives, new points are brought up, new angles of looking upon the issue are seen. This must continue if we’re to promote and truly understand the meaning and value in enfranchising younger citizens.
The next #16tovote on the 16th is, of course, on Thursday, June 16. Make sure you are following NYRA on Twitter! And now… the recap!
youthrights And now… the 16th run of #16tovote on the 16th!!! Here’s Top 10 Reasons to LOWER THE VOTING AGE!!! http://bit.ly/cavxOT
sciville Teens are more informed than ever! Not having the right to vote makes no sense! #16tovote
youthrights Is 16 just as arbitrary as 18? Perhaps. But it means more youth having a real stake in politics, and that’s a big deal. #16tovote
youthrights But maybe 16 isn’t that arbitrary. You can work at 16, thus pay taxes, and as such are paying into a system you can’t vote for. #16tovote
teh_maxh #16tovote, bitches.
JBBdude Today, the @youthrights #16tovote 16 on the 16th event is on its 16th run. So proud of the NYRA crew and this amazing tradition.
JBBdude Why those under age 18 aren’t “real” American citizens continues to perplex and frustrate me. Voting is a right, not a privilege. #16tovote
sciville Maybe dissenters are right. If the voting age drops to 16, BAD THINGS will happen, such as… uh… hmm… not sure actually. #16tovote
youthrights Political needs of youth often get ignored because they can’t speak for themselves. Let’s give them the vote so they can! #16tovote
demand_euphoria A newly enfranchised group might actually be excited enough to exercise their right to vote. That would be cool. #16tovote
youthrights Negative opinions of teens are rampant among adult voters. Without the vote, teens are at the mercy of an anti-teen electorate. #16tovote
teh_maxh #16tovote or *I* will vote your bitch ass out of office.
evilfoods #16tovote because im mad as hell and not gong to take anymore
sciville Voting is a right, so there’d better be damn good REAL reason for withholding that right. “Under 18” is not a real reason. #16tovote
youthrights We do society no favors by casting youth off as defective. They’re not! Include them! Lower the voting age! #16tovote
UsielX No taxation without representation. #16tovote
youthrights Good morning! It’s the 16th run of #16tovote on the 16th! As usual, we’re tweeting for lowering the voting age! 🙂
youthrights Without the vote, officials who make youth policy are out only to please adults, leaving teens voiceless and exploited. #16tovote
youthrights Consent of the governed is the basis of democracy. Youth are governed but have no vote to consent. That’s anti-democracy. #16tovote
youthrights #16tovote begs question of value of voting in general. How is a 30-year-old’s vote more valuable than a 16-year-old’s?
youthrights Emancipated teens have to work and support themselves in an anti-teen society. They still can’t vote. #16tovote
youthrights Teen parents struggle to raise kids in a society that treats them like a social ill. They still can’t vote. #16tovote
youthrights Teens are “mature” enough to work and pay taxes, to do adult time for crimes, but for some reason too “immature” to vote. #16tovote
youthrights What does “mature enough to vote” even mean? Are fewer teens so “mature” than adults? What is the “voting maturity” threshold? #16tovote
youthrights Age tells you only years lived, not individual merits, not how or for what reasons one would vote. #16tovote
youthrights If worried the teen vote would skew liberal, then just say you don’t want liberals voting! Leave teens alone. 😛 #16tovote
amaliowirth Kudos to @youthrights and their #16tovote campaign today – we need to AT LEAST give #youth a seat at the policy table!
youthrights If worried the teen vote would skew conservative, then just say you don’t want conservatives voting! Leave teens alone. 😛 #16tovote
youthrights Those were just examples, obviously. Opponents to teen suffrage tend to assume teens will be whatever voting bloc they don’t like. #16tovote
youthrights Teens would vote based on their interests, just like everyone else. Their interests deserve consideration, too. #16tovote
SchoolSurvival RT @woolwytch: RT @Ivanroberson: High schooler challenges Bachmann to debate on U.S. Constitution http://bit.ly/kITqSo #16tovote
youthrights Trying to come up with a good #16tovote tweet? Imagine you’re at a rally to lower the voting age. Tweet what your sign would say. 😛
youthrights Then there’s @sciville, whose rally sign was a #16tovote tweet! 😛 http://on.fb.me/ikoTZh
youthrights Adults who know nothing about the local school system have more a say in it than its students do. That has to change! #16tovote
youthrights “I am 16. I have a job and I pay taxes.” It’s our TV ad about lowering the voting age! http://bit.ly/9lVTJh Created by @nyrasefl! #16tovote
youthrights With #16tovote, we hope to see ridiculous laws like this disappear: http://tinyurl.com/3uxj47j
youthrights Only when you can’t vote do officials feel safe making it illegal for you to simply be outside. #16tovote
youthrights A ballot is one of many tools to defend one’s own freedom. Without it, one’s freedom and opportunities are at risk. #16tovote
youthrights The 26th Amendment is a beautiful thing. It forbids raising the voting age from 18 but does not forbid lowering it! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights Have more to say about #16tovote than 140 characters allows? Join our forums and share your thoughts there! http://forums.youthrights.org
flecktarnfox Old enough to pay taxes? Old enough to have a say in where they go! #16tovote
youthrights Our own @jnadel recently did a radio interview about the voting age! Check it out: http://youtu.be/uYgH_4EKFrY #16tovote
demand_euphoria The more, the merrier. #16tovote
youthrights None of those at risk of being sent to these places can vote: http://bit.ly/dy2UMY Maybe that’s why they’re still legal. : #16tovote
youthrights Abusive “treatment” centers must be shut down anyway, of course, but victims not having voting rights doesn’t help! #16tovote
youthrights HS student Amy Myers knows the constitution better than Rep. Michele Bachmann! http://bit.ly/k1biJC But she still can’t vote. : #16tovote
JBBdude @youthrights To be fair, it’s not hard to know ANYTHING better than Bachmann. I’d bet almost all high school Gov’t students do. #16tovote
youthrights It’s the 16th run of #16tovote on the 16th, and the tweets have been great so far! Thanks, everyone! 😀
youthrights Once again, here’s our legendary Top 10 Reasons to Lower the Voting Age! http://bit.ly/cavxOT #16tovote
youthrights Maybe if teens could vote, it wouldn’t still be legal in 19 states to paddle them in school. #16tovote #FightthePaddle
youthrights When such a basic right as not being physically assaulted gets seen as a privilege, lack of representation gets dangerous. #16tovote
youthrights Entertainment choice is at risk when too young to vote. Check out @UsielX’s Supreme Court speech: http://youtu.be/sVFWwGyPAX4 #16tovote
youthrights We’re 16 hours and 16 minutes into the 16th run of #16tovote on the 16th! Tweeting about lowering the voting age to… 16! 🙂
youthrights Ann Coulter proposed repealing the 26th Amendment. Check out @kpalicz’s great rebuttal! http://huff.to/ijN8nT #16tovote
youthrights Solution to fear of teens or others voting against your interests isn’t to deny their vote. It’s to make sure YOU cast yours! #16tovote
drewmm10 In a country where half of all adults are too lazy to vote, they’re still willing to deny the vote to others. #16tovote
youthrights A lower voting age would make it all the more critical for campaigns to reach out to and satisfy younger voters. Good. 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights @BrittTheGreat The short answer is it would meaningfully involve teens in society and enable them to defend their own interests. #16tovote
teh_maxh #16tovote, because when I was sixteen, I could actually see the damn ballot!
amisophe #16tovote because of this http://nostalgiabyproxy.tumblr.com/post/5383262908/so-i-went-to-the-library-today
sciville I love how people say teens “don’t have enough experience” to vote as if those words mean a damn thing. #16tovote
sciville Seriously, what is it? Should voters be employed? Married? Property owners? Non-virgins? What exactly is this glorious threshold? #16tovote
youthrights Austria has one of the highest voluntary voter turnouts in the world. The voting age is 16. 🙂 #16tovote
silverwolf1977 @sciville That would return us to the colonial era when only 21+ white, male landowners could vote. #16tovote
sciville In any case, measuring years lived is not the same as measuring experience. The voting age only looks at years lived, not merit. #16tovote
sciville (inb4 people pointing out that 16 is still a voting age, yes, yes, I know) #16tovote (or lower or none, whatever)
youthrights *sigh* Want an example of politicians attacking the rights of teens because they can’t vote? Right here: http://tcrn.ch/mNk4Ly #16tovote
youthrights Just under 5 hours to go for this #16tovote on the 16th! Support lowering the voting age? Of course you do! Speak up! 🙂
youthrights “We’re asking for YOUR support. We want the right to vote.” Once again, voting age ad starring @nyrasefl! http://bit.ly/9lVTJh 🙂 #16tovote
sciville As for the #16tovote vs no voting age question, here’s my thread about that: http://bit.ly/fFViyY #16tovote
sciville That’s right! http://on.fb.me/ikoTZh I posted a #16tovote tweet… on poster board! With marker! Your argument is invalid. 😛
youthrights Want to improve schools? Give students a real say in who runs them. Let THEM vote for school boards! #16tovote
philosoraptor Young people have the most interest in ensuring that we build a good future together: they have to live with it the longest. #16tovote
svendlarose The voting age rests on no rational basis such as is required by the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. #16tovote #6thgradevote
sciville Instead of voting competence tests, we draw an age line and assume all on one side would fail. That’s better for some reason. #16tovote
demand_euphoria If voting rights were based on maturity or intelligence, lots of 18+ people I know would be excluded. #16tovote
sciville I don’t condone voting competence tests, but deciding for a whole group that they fail that test by existing is just as silly. #16tovote
sciville Can we revoke Dallas Cowboys fans’ right to vote? No? That’s ok. I’ll just oppose #16tovote because some teens are Cowboys fans. 😛 #loljk
sciville That’s right all you “teens aren’t mature/experienced/liberal/conservative enough to vote” people! That is how you sound! 😛 #16tovote
youthrights Two hours to go for this great 16th run of #16tovote on the 16th! Keep the great tweets coming! 🙂
youthrights Here’s a classic! Way back in 2004, @kpalicz went on Fox News for this voting age debate: http://bit.ly/dlOyNv #16tovote
Jordan_Carr #16tovote because it’s the right thing to do.
sciville It saddens me, knowing the brilliant teens I interact with as equals are forbidden from the polls because they’re “just kids”. #16tovote
_AlexanderLee Set this up right – #16tovote , #18todrink . 🙂
youthrights Love the nice light-hearted #16tovote tweets today, but yes, we do have more solid points for a lower voting age here: http://bit.ly/x4CA8
Jordan_Carr If politicians represent 16 yo already, then why not let 16 yo vote so that politicians represent their interests more? #16tovote
SnipeMe Tired of the ‘Washington Elite?’ Maybe a FRESH perspective would help clean out the DUST AND COBWEBS from politics! #16tovote
SnipeMe We claim to do so much “for the children” but it’s funny that we aren’t allowed to hear from THEM nor are they allowed to SPEAK! #16tovote
SnipeMe NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENATION…unless you’re just a stupid kid, then plz give us all ur moneys and fuck off, trolololol.. #16tovote
youthrights Watch then-17yo @jnadel show more respect for civil liberties than a state senator and CNN anchor: http://youtu.be/GDBqm1WBc6g #16tovote
SnipeMe Now’s a good time to pimp out SnipeMe’s rant on the subject: Voting Is A RIGHT, Stupid! http://snipeme.com/go2/d426f #16tovote
SnipeMe At the end of that last rant I tweeted, the pic sums it up nicely. I JUST SUNK YOUR BATTLESHIP, BITCH!!! Argument OVER! #16tovote
youthrights Here’s @nyrasefl rallying for #16tovote on Election Day 2010: http://on.fb.me/i2dxtX
youthrights Half an hour left for this #16tovote on the 16th! Let’s give it a good finish! 🙂
flecktarnfox Used to be “not male enough”, then it was “not white enough”, now it’s “not old enough”. Let’s see some forward progress for once. #16tovote
youthrights 18 is a hard age to start voting, being right at start of college. 16 is a more stable starting time. #16tovote
youthrights And if first time voting is at a more stable time, it’ll be easier so the voting habit starts earlier, and voter turnout goes up! #16tovote
sciville I was a 17yo college sophomore. Worked my way ahead, yet no amount of achievement got me voting rights. Still had to wait. #16tovote
youthrights Another #16tovote on the 16th, after another month of seeing injustices against youth, made worse by their lack of voting rights.
youthrights Lower voting age won’t be a magic bullet to ending anti-youth oppression, but it is a vital step we must support. #16tovote
youthrights It may feel repetitive, talking about this every 16th of the month, but it needs to be said often, needs to be openly demanded. #16tovote
youthrights Today we tweeted serious and not-so-serious points for lowering the voting age. But either way, we will get there. #16tovote
youthrights We’ll get to a lower voting age. We’ll keep tweeting. We’ll keep campaigning. We’ll keep rallying. We’ll never give up. #16tovote
youthrights And… that’s a wrap for the 16th run of #16tovote on the 16th! You all are wonderful! Thanks so much! Credits up soon. 🙂
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @sciville @silverwolf1977 @nickj47 @teh_maxh @JBBdude @demand_euphoria @seldombites @evilfoods @drewmm10
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @defaultmovie @UsielX @amaliowirth @SchoolSurvival @wonton891 @SunDrop_Coley @flecktarnfox @TeacherSabrina
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @sparkaction @MachelleGrimes @Jodyth @LiberatingKids @heathercorinna @OliviaConsiders @halphillips @nicmend
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @taradinoc @Ivanroberson @amisophe @OnBradstreet @LoisPennycandy @StrawberryTech @bdruth @philosoraptor
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @monsooniowa @RickTRMusic @svendlarose @Jordan_Carr @SnipeMe @inababi @underbellie @nwparsons
youthrights And thanks to anyone I missed! We do it again Thursday, June 16, the next #16tovote on the 16th! Goodnight everybody! 😀
Until June 16!
