#16tovote on the 16th is now a year and a half old! We’ve completed the 19th run, just like the others tweeting and retweeting about lowering the voting age using the hashtag #16tovote. The main themes to this one have been “check out our awesome new website” and “Vote17Lowell rocks!” Our friends at UTEC Lowell are campaigning to lower the voting age to 17 for local Lowell, MA elections! Will Lowell be the first in the nation to grant general election voting rights to under-18s? Are we close to seeing this happen at last? We’ll see! As for the NYRA side of the lower voting age campaigns, we have some up and coming chapters looking very promising and may take on this issue. There’s every reason to be excited! And, of course, with all this, like every month, our #16tovote tweeting to get more people aware of and thinking about this issue. Be sure to follow us!
Next #16tovote on the 16th is of course on Friday, September 16, but for now, here’s the recap! 🙂
youthrights Year and a half and going strong! It’s #16tovote on the 16th! Here’s Top 10 Reasons to Lower the Voting Age!!! http://t.co/Kkn6QKM
youthrights WAIT A MINUTE! That’s not our usual Voting Age Top 10 page… #16tovote
youthrights That’s right! Our beautiful NEW website has at last gone LIVE! Check out the NEW voting age section! http://t.co/KsVvZXh #16tovote
youthrights Our friends @Vote17Lowell presented at #nyraam about their current campaign to lower the Lowell, MA voting age! #16tovote
youthrights I think today’s #16tovote on the 16th theme will be “check out our awesome new website!” and “@Vote17Lowell ROCKS!” 🙂
Spin0za1 Do adults get subjected to public schools? No. Do their votes affect the quality of the schools youth are subjected to? Yes. #16tovote
youthrights And we’ll throw in some stuff about the voting age, I guess. That’s the point of this thing after all. 😉 #16tovote
youthrights Imagine being involved and knowledgeable, but others have a say in society while you do not. Frustrating? We agree. #16tovote
youthrights And imagine those others continually deny you’re as involved and knowledgeable as you are, and consider your voice a threat. #16tovote
youthrights But you ARE involved and knowledgeable, at least as much as anyone else! You’re NOT a threat! You’re just… under 18. : #16tovote
ErikBraghirol If Rick Santorum can vote, then 16 year-olds should be allowed to vote. #16tovote.
AdamKissel Maybe if #16tovote came to Philadelphia, our younger folks would feel more responsible for their own city and not flash mob.
sciville Our society claims an obsession with protecting children. So give youth voting rights to protect themselves politically! #16tovote
danielalexbaum #16tovote #Isupportyouthrights http://t.co/aq13jgW
ErikBraghirol People frequently complain that kids aren’t actively engaged in politics. Maybe this would change if 16 year-olds could vote. #16tovote.
sciville My piece “Who Gets to Vote?”: http://t.co/vFSNBL3 Wondering if voting age should be lowered, abolished, or other. #16tovote
CoreyMcCarren #16tovote? Maybe, but its a good thing I wasn’t able to vote at 16, I’dve written in Jello Biafra. Then again maybe that wouldn’t be so bad
youthrights Teens are often more involved in communities than their non-voting parents. Maybe voting teens would encourage parents to vote! #16tovote
evilfoods we need more voters #16tovote
youthrights How can there be #edreform if those most involved with schools, the STUDENTS, cannot vote for officials making school decisions? #16tovote
youthrights Students know first hand what “works” in schools, yet they have no voice in communicating this to those setting school policies. #16tovote
notfallingapart Lower the Voting age to 16 http://t.co/7s1N32D #16tovote
youthrights What’s all this? It’s #16tovote on the 16th! Check out more info about this event here: http://t.co/FkYDz5j (on gorgeous new website!) 🙂
sciville Can the social needs of youth be met when they do not have a ballot? Not well. If at all. #16tovote
notfallingapart top 10 reasons to lower the age If we let stupid adults vote, why not let smart youth vote? http://t.co/0FPPEc8 #16tovote
notfallingapart A Voting Age Under 18 is Constitutional http://t.co/Vi1zWkC #16tovote
TheseEnds Fresh ideas and a voice for a generation so hugely impacted by today’s decisions. #16tovote
sciville Opponents of #16tovote claim those under 18 aren’t rational enough to vote. An irrational claim in and of itself!
flecktarnfox If I’m gonna get a job in a year or two and thus to have to pay a federal income tax, I better have a say in what it’s used for. #16tovote
rinelk Youths access more high-quality political info than ever before, and have a valuable perspective on a quickly-changing world. #16tovote
evilfoods we are the futre, why cant we vote on it #16tovote
flecktarnfox I see all these politicians saying “we must keep the future of our youth safe”. Maybe let them have a say in the matter? #16tovote
youthrights We want a lower voting age not expecting youth to vote a certain way but believing suffrage itself is good for them and society! #16tovote
SamCEllis Can tell its the 16th today- @youthrights is doing its #16toVote tweets. Fantastic way of campaigning
youthrights For some late night voting age reading, check out “Children and the Most Essential Right”: http://t.co/0Eg0LKH #16tovote
notfallingapart Lower the voting age to 16. come on we should have a say!!! http://t.co/0FPPEc8 #16tovote
youthrights Our friends @Vote17Lowell are SO close to making a lower voting age a reality in Massachusetts! Follow them! 🙂 #16tovote
UsielX FACT: Humans are granted the ability to hold informed opinions on the eves of their 18th birthdays, by the Adult Fairy. Disagree? #16tovote
UsielX You are under 18 & politically engaged. Do you: A. Accept your role in a society that scorns your opinions B. Stop caring C. Fight #16tovote
UsielX HOW TO VOTE: 1. Don’t commit a felony 2. Don’t be judged mentally incompetent 3. Don’t be 17. One of these is not like the others #16tovote
UsielX I am not your future. I am my present. #16tovote
evilfoods going outside is a crime! #fuckthecurfew #16tovote
youthrights Good morning! It’s a lovely day and a lovely #16tovote on the 16th for our usual tweeting about lowering the voting age! 🙂
youthrights Our Facebook posts automatically go to our Twitter. Check it out and follow us there. Today is #16toVote. This… http://t.co/ya2LbW7
youthrights It’s not about how or even if a teen would vote. It’s about having the option and that alone is worth a lot! #16tovote
youthrights Curfew laws are a horrendous assault on free movement. Yet when too young to vote, you can be subjected to them. #16tovote
youthrights Wouldn’t enfranchised teens just vote for celebrities? Could you imagine if, say, actor Ronald Reagan were president?! #16tovote 😉
youthrights Today we’ve been doing #16tovote on the 16th for a year and a half! Check out all the previous runs here: http://t.co/TZYKUeX
the_boy Because age-capped curfew laws are awful, and voters would never willing subject themselves to such nonsense #16toVote
youthrights When parents can vote and their kids can’t, we find “domestic violence” against the kids gets called “discipline”. #16tovote
youthrights When parents can vote and their kids can’t, a “sacred right to raise kids as parents see fit” is valued more than kids’ autonomy. #16tovote
youthrights We all have different ideas as to what youth liberation looks like. But we can all agree voting age of 18 is not in that vision! #16tovote
youthrights When we say #16tovote, we see 16 not as an end goal but as a first step. Let’s lower the voting age to 16 and go from there! 🙂
ErikBraghirol If you pay taxes you should be able to vote. Since 16 year-olds that work pay taxes, they should be able to vote. #16tovote.
youthprivacy High school — the perfect opportunity to teach the importance of civic engagement to youth (esp. if they are given a voice) #16tovote
youthrights Aren’t there more pressing issues than voting age? Yes. But all youth rights violations are enabled through lack of voting rights. #16tovote
youthrights Lower voting age will not in and of itself solve all other youth rights issues. But it’ll bring those solutions well within reach! #16tovote
youthrights Just like the rest of us, youth must be able to defend their rights, among other ways, through the ballot box! #16tovote
youthprivacy #16tovote As we’ve seen, those who feel voiceless may turn to sometimes-violent demonstration. Allowing a vote seems preferable.
Jordan_Carr Allowing 16 year olds to vote will just bring more voters to the booth. #16ToVote
youthrights “We’re asking for your support. We want the right to vote.” http://t.co/e3pEe0Y Our voting age ad from 2008, made by @nyrasefl! #16tovote
demand_euphoria Afraid of how a 16-year-old might vote? Remember, men used to feel that way about women too… #16tovote
jfpbookworm All 3 are problematic. RT @UsielX HOW TO VOTE: 1. Don’t commit a felony 2. Don’t be judged mentally incompetent 3. Don’t be 17. #16tovote
youthrights To grant voting rights to youth is to significantly raise their status. Raising the status of youth is what we’re about! 🙂 #16tovote
Jordan_Carr We want youth to be interested in their futures, why don’t we facilitate that interest by giving them power to aid their futures? #16tovote
youthrights Teens should be able to vote so to reform emancipation laws so they can leave bad homes more easily! #16tovote
youthrights Yet even emancipated teens, who essentially live adult lives in all aspects, still cannot vote. #16tovote
notfallingapart At 14 you can be tried as an adult for a crime but you CANT VOTE……hypocrites: http://t.co/VV1iSLc #isupportyouthrights #16tovote
teh_maxh Support #16tovote or you suck.
youthrights If you’ve written a blog post or made a video about lowering the voting age, today’s the day to share it! 🙂 #16tovote
teh_maxh Support #16tovote or you are a bad person and you should feel bad.
notfallingapart Youth pay $$$$$$$$$$$$ BILLIONS $$$$$$$$$$$$ in taxes but we CANT VOTE !!!: http://t.co/xSfUd85 #isupportyouthrights #16tovote
amisophe #16tovote because until lawmakers see youth as true citizens, the “best interests of the child” will never be truly represented.
amisophe youth are not the “leaders of tomorrow” – they are the citizens of today #16tovote
youthrights Enjoying @UsielX’s #16tovote tweets? Check out her Supreme Court speech on voting rights and free speech! http://youtu.be/sVFWwGyPAX4
AnneF94 Why should US citizens have to pay taxes if they don’t get the right to vote? #16tovote
youthrights “We have lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18. We should lower it still further, to 16 or 15, and so on.” -John Holt #16tovote
youthrights It’s still legal in 19 states to paddle students. Easy to drag your feet on banning it when they aren’t paddling legal voters! : #16tovote
youthrights Ann Coulter said “raise the voting age!” Then @kpalicz said “lower the voting age!” http://t.co/628G79M #16tovote
youthrights Every youth experiences ageism differently. With lower voting age, they’ll be granted power to deal with those individual issues! #16tovote
youthrights Even if voting itself isn’t that important to some youth, they’ll still have the political power that comes with voting rights! #16tovote
youthrights How safe are your rights when they’re entirely in the hands of others? Others who by and large dislike you for your age? #16tovote
youthrights For more in-depth voting age information, see the voting age section of our beautiful redesigned website!: http://t.co/MOMPYwD #16tovote
youthrights Without the vote, youth are forced to sit idly by while their voting elders strip away more of their rights. This MUST change! #16tovote
youthrights Our society thinks it must silence and exploit youth. On the contrary, it is through including youth that we all benefit! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights #16tovote on the 16th is going GREAT! Once again… here’s Top 10 Reasons to Lower the Voting Age! http://bit.ly/mPxJfZ
youthrights Tonight at 8pm Eastern, come chat with us about the voting age (and anything else) in our new chatroom! http://t.co/ynzPDSW #16tovote
flecktarnfox “Young people need to take an interest in politics and where our nation is heading” Here’s an idea: HEAR WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY. #16tovote
youthrights Lowell, MA may soon lower their voting age to 17 thanks to the work of our good friends at @Vote17Lowell! Follow them! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights Wouldn’t matter why teens vote a certain way. We’re not in business of micromanaging voters’ reasons for voting, at any age. #16tovote
youthrights No such thing as voting “wrong”. Entirely subjective. Everyone’s vote is “wrong” to someone. Not a reason to deny voting rights! #16tovote
youthrights Denying teens (or anyone) voting rights because you fear they wouldn’t vote how you want is about as undemocratic as you can get! #16tovote
youthrights If concerned teens don’t have enough information to vote, then inform them and involve them! Don’t withhold rights! #16tovote
youthrights On Election Day, @nyrasefl rallied for a lower voting age! #16tovote Check it out: http://t.co/nEAN49k
youthrights Denying something so basic as voting rights requires compelling state interest. Fear of teens is not a compelling interest. #16tovote
youthrights Today is #16tovote on the 16th! Support lowering the voting age? Of course you do. Speak up! And use the #16tovote hashtag! 🙂
youthrights Want to participate in #16tovote on the 16th but aren’t sure what to say? Read through the #16tovote search feed and RT what you like!
youthrights Pretend this is a lower voting age rally and you’re holding a sign. Tweet what your sign would say along with the #16tovote hashtag!
youthrights Then there’s @sciville, who held an actual sign at an actual rally with a #16tovote tweet on it: http://t.co/ytddjGx
C_Carrington Why not let us make decisions that effect our future!? #16tovote
youthrights You know what’s nice? The 26th Amendment. Forbids raising voting age above 18 but allows lowering it! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights Thanks for the great #16tovote tweets! Going GREAT! Once again, here’s @nyrasefl’s voting age ad! http://t.co/e3pEe0Y
sciville My dog has the same voting rights as your honor student. #16tovote
TeacherSabrina @ritacolleen Would politicians get away w/ gutting arts ed & other useful programs, while increasing test$, if youth could vote? #16tovote
youthrights “Parents would force teens to vote a certain way!” What about parents who force teens to go to school or church? Care about them? #16tovote
youthrights And interesting that the alleged solution to parental pressure on voting teens is to withhold rights… from the teens! #16tovote
youthrights Curfew proposal? Cutting school funding? I trust you plan to let YOUTH have a say in this, right? Kind of silly otherwise. o.O #16tovote
sciville “Youth are the future” is a nice way of saying “we’ll deal with you later, when you’re a real person”. Let youth be the present! #16tovote
youthrights Imagine if a society in which you volunteered, worked, and paid taxes wouldn’t let you vote because it thinks you’re undeveloped. #16tovote
sciville “When you’re 16 going on 17, you should have the right to vote!” That’s how that song goes, right? Well, it is now! 😛 #16tovote
youthrights Voting age debate on Fox News from waaaay back in 2004 with @kpalicz: http://t.co/HOMEPNT #16tovote
youthrights Lowering the voting age is an important step to a society where youth are respected and included, not cast aside and silenced. #16tovote
kpalicz NYRA has a NEW website! Check it out: http://t.co/W8QyMJs Such a great, professional website allows us to better advocate for #16tovote
kpalicz @sciville @PJOinDC @youthrights At least DC can vote for president, mayor and city council. Youth can’t vote for dog catcher. #16tovote
youthrights Lowering the voting age means trusting youth. They’re capable. They’re part of the community. They have good ideas. Let them vote! #16tovote
youthrights Lowering the voting age involves hearing from and being accountable to ALL youth, not just an adult-chosen few. #16tovote
youthrights Straight-A students and dropouts alike should have representation! All youth are different! All youth have something to say! #16tovote
youthrights You can vote at 16 in Austria, Brazil, Nicaragua, and parts of Germany and Switzerland! It’s a real thing! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights When old enough to vote, you can just go buy a video game. When not, you must win a Supreme Court case first. #16tovote
youthrights Maturity and experience are neither objective nor measurable. Thus supposed lack thereof is not a reason to deny teens the vote! #16tovote
youthrights In 2006, one of our members was nearly charged with a felony for voting underage. Only a year later he’d be a good citizen! #16tovote
youthrights It’s 10pm. Do you know who decided youth can’t legally be outside in some places now? Did the youth have a say? Didn’t think so. #16tovote
youthrights Alright, two hours left for this #16tovote on the 16th! Thanks so much, everyone! Let’s give it a good finish! 🙂
sciville You think teens aren’t mentally sound enough to vote? PROTIP: Mental soundness can’t be measured by reading a birthdate. #16tovote
sciville If you don’t want teens voting because none of them are smart and only the smart should vote, you just ruled yourself out. #16tovote
youthrights Once again, check out @UsielX’s Supreme Court speech about free speech and voting rights! http://t.co/rFADQUu #16tovote
teh_maxh #16tovote or GTFO
sarah11918 Not sure who’s considering it, but loving some #16tovote tweets like: RT @sciville: My dog has the same voting rights as your honor student.
youthrights Our friends at @Vote17Lowell are working to lower the voting age to 17 in Lowell, MA! Follow them! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights And here’s our own Voting Age info page on our beautiful newly-redesigned website! http://t.co/KsVvZXh 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights Lowering the voting age is to bring youth out from marginalization and into full respected citizenship! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights Youth aren’t in a bubble, separated from society. Many take great responsibility and involvement! Let them VOTE! #16tovote
SnipeMe As much as ppl want to blame teens for many problems, the world is a messed up place and it was made so by legions of OLD FUCKS! #16tovote
northeastern292 At least have high school students have SOME input in their local government, at least. #16tovote
youthrights Lowering the voting age is not an end goal but a piece of a much grander movement to make the world less oppressive for youth! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights It’s easier to begin voting in high school than in college. The easier first time voting is, more likely you are to keep at it! #16tovote
youthrights Maybe school policies violating student free speech rights would disappear if students could vote against those enacting them. #16tovote
teh_maxh Funny how the same person opposes #16tovote on both teen rebellion and conformity. Glad to know they argue against themselves, though.
geoffreyfoster The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. § 1971((c)) #16tovote
youthrights For some, lowering the voting age to 16 and not lower is all they want, seeking no further youth rights advances. #16tovote
youthrights For us and others, lowering the voting age is among the first of countless steps towards a more youth-friendly society! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights Voting itself may not seem a big priority for some youth, but the rights that come with the ballot are worth fighting for! #16tovote
youthrights There are countless youth rights issues, far more than we’re aware of due to ingrained ageism, and they must be challenged. #16tovote
youthrights Where rights are tied to voting on politicians making decisions about them, being without voting rights is a vulnerability. #16tovote
youthrights We stop curfews and student rights violations here and there, even without a lower voting age. That is true… #16tovote
youthrights But to truly attack the root of anti-youth laws, we see youth have no political voice with which to defend themselves from them. #16tovote
youthrights That’s why we say lower the voting age! Because without the vote, rights are in danger. With it, rights can be secured! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights Aaaand, that’s it for this run of #16tovote on the 16th! Thanks so much, everyone!!! Timeline-clogging credits up soon. 😛
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @Spin0za1 @ErikBraghirol @AdamKissel @danlsimp @sciville @notfallingapart @danielalexbaum @JonSM99 @rinelk
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @SpokenXWords @evilfoods @urbanrezlife @TheseEnds @flecktarnfox @SamCEllis @UsielX @IrisVanRooij @the_boy
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @iampatrickw @Leading_Now @youthprivacy @demand_euphoria @Jordan_Carr @Lindiny @jfpbookworm @teh_maxh
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @amisophe @mjsa96 @silverwolf1977 @WendyPriesnitz @pdxmobilizer @defaultmovie @Baby_Love_Child @jbuuSERVE
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @C_Carrington @toveruus @Vote17Lowell @NYRALewisCounty @sovannapouv @susan_waym @TeacherSabrina @kpalicz
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @PJOrvetti @SchoolSurvival @edwinkemp @taradinoc @sarah11918 @MaxKaminCross @TheLillyTheory @votesafe
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @MichaelCoholich @northeastern292 @geoffreyfoster @ProjectScenario @SnipeMe @CoreyMcCarren
youthrights And thanks to anyone we missed. You’re all wonderful! Next #16tovote on the 16th is of course Friday, September 16. Goodnight! 🙂
See you then!
I love these, Katrina!