Can you believe it? Just completed the 21st run of #16tovote on the 16th! Been doing this a while and the recaps of them all can be found right here on this blog. And yet, despite it being single-issue, despite it having been done 21 times now, each run is unique! I admit it. I still get excited to see what points for lowering the voting age people come up with. I still get excited to see people participate, whether curious Twitter followers or long-time members. The voting age has been tied to several other youth rights issues, due to the inherent centrality of the right to vote in any rights discussion of course. And it is far reaching, that being unable to vote not only means not being able to cast that ballot, but it removes a politician’s requirement to treat you respectfully and reduces you to a voiceless political pawn. So, with all else going on, we do this every month, we get on Twitter and talk about lowering the voting age and get others thinking about it and demanding it. Far more must be done than merely tweeting, of course! This is mostly a start, a cultivation of ideas. And it’s going great!
We do it again on Wednesday, November 16. Be sure to follow us on Twitter! For now, the recap!
youthrights Once again, here we are for another… #16tovote on the 16th! 🙂 Here’s Top 10 Reasons to LOWER THE VOTING AGE! http://t.co/RRS0Ridu
evilfoods Corporations are people, youth are not? #16tovote
youthrights If only that idealistic, uncompromising youthful energy that demands change had a greater voice at the ballot box! #16tovote
ErikBraghirol Whatever issues young people might have will never be resolved unless they can actively participate in the solutions. #16tovote.
ErikBraghirol Look in the streets around the country. Young people clearly care about their world and deserve to be heard. #16tovote.
sciville 18th birthday? Been there. Done it. Nothing about it made me “mature enough” to vote. #16tovote
evilfoods #16tovote because youth need a seat at the table… and I don’t mean the kids table
ErikBraghirol It’s always interesting when the people that gambled away their retirement money on Wall Street want to question maturity of young #16tovote
youthrights Who’s ever heard of a 37-year-old being called “not mature enough to vote”? Only with young voters does anyone say this. #16tovote
youthrights This is the 21st run of #16tovote on the 16th! You get the idea by now. Tweet about lowering the voting age. Use the hashtag. 🙂
youthrights Don’t just pretend to listen to young people. Do it for real. Lower the voting age! #16tovote
vibewire What do you think? RT @youthrights: Don’t just pretend to listen to young people. Do it for real. Lower the voting age! #16tovote
youthrights Austria and Brazil are examples of places where 16-year-olds can vote! And soon, Scotland too! http://t.co/hENBL8oI #16tovote
Jordan_Carr You pay taxes and you can drive, but you can’t vote. Sounds like you’re really represented. #16ToVote
youthrights A 16-year-old worker is still a worker and therefore a taxpayer, and as a taxpayer, must have representation! #16tovote
BakeMakes Politicians can talk about how much they care about our kids once they give them the right to vote and stop using them as pawns. #16tovote
youthrights Libraries, police, fire department, roads, especially schools… all things people under 18 care about too! #16tovote
flecktarnfox Hey, wouldja look at that, it’s that wonderful time of the month again. #16tovote
EIFY Given minors’ lack of right and power, false education fed to them, and bleak prospect, they should be on the street (protesting) #16tovote
youthrights Major policies are passed all the time by officials youth could not vote for or against. But what if they could? #16tovote
youthrights Two hours into #16tovote on the 16th – Sunday Edition! Much more to come! Check out our voting age page: http://t.co/12v7ux5h
youthrights Good morning! This is #16tovote on the 16th – Sunday Edition! As usual, tweeting for a lower voting age! 🙂
youthrights If 16-year-olds are too irresponsible to vote or do many other things, why are they “tried as adults” for crimes? #16tovote
youthrights If teens do something wrong, it’s seen as fit to punish them severely. But when innocent, they are still barred from inclusion. #16tovote
youthrights Even when not tried “as adults”, youth go through juvenile justice system. And the youth can’t vote to fix its many problems. #16tovote
youthrights The 26th Amendment forbids raising the voting age above 18. Lowering below 18 is just fine, though! 🙂 #16tovote
sciville I wish teens could vote. Then officials couldn’t so much as whisper the word “curfew” without being destroyed! Mwahaha! #16tovote
youthrights Seeing all these #16tovote tweets and want to join in? Go ahead! Tweet why the voting age should be lowered! 🙂
youthrights Teens must watch political candidates treat them like pawns, their future carelessly, but can’t vote against them. #16tovote
flecktarnfox While we’re pointing out blatant social unjustices at the #Occupy rallies, how about some people join in with some #16tovote signs?
youthrights “We’re asking for your support. We want the right to vote.” http://t.co/h4YAqVY8 Our voting age TV ad by @jnadel and @nyrasefl! #16tovote
ErikBraghirol One of the basic principles of the social contract is that all people consent to the contract. This is why #16tovote.
Amy33Amy33 #16toVote We Inherit this country as well as it’s Quadrilions of dollars in debt, If your gonna make us pay for it, Let us vote on it =)
Amy33Amy33 Odd, the war with the Britains was all about taxation without representation, Odd cause it’s still happening today #16toVote
youthrights Another #16tovote victory! Scotland is lowering the voting age to 16! http://t.co/hENBL8oI
youthrights Worried about how teens would vote? Then talk to them, engage them, resonate with them! Just like anyone else! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights You can’t support justice and democracy while also telling a portion of population “shut up, you’re too young to matter”. #16tovote
Fort_Skillman #16toVote on the Tumblr Scape http://t.co/zHCbxTnp
youthrights Worried teens will vote the same way as parents? Well, chances are, they’ll vote the same way as someone! 😛 #16tovote
youthrights Contrary to popular opinion, teens do have working, critical minds. They can decide for themselves which candidates to pick! #16tovote
youthrights Some oppose lower voting age for fear teens would be exploited for votes. But forbidding them the vote IS exploitation! #16tovote
flecktarnfox “No taxation without representation… except if you’re under the magical age of 18.” #16tovote
youthrights Come to think of it, does anyone care if a 30-year-old’s parents are pressuring her to vote a certain way? Didn’t think so. #16tovote
Amy33Amy33 What Happens when you turn 18? No your brain does not grow 10x its size, Your the same person that you have always been… #16toVote
Amy33Amy33 If you can fill out a standardized MCA Test then you can definately fill out a ballot #16toVote
sciville Voting involves Googling candidates, going to polling place, and picking who might not enslave us all. Nothing teens can’t do! #16tovote
Amy33Amy33 We’ve known how to fill out a bubble since 3rd Grade when you gave us our First Standardized Test. #16tovote #8tovote
sciville Many teens live independently, work, are parents, etc. Seems pretty “adult”, no? Yet they still can’t vote! #16tovote
Amy33Amy33 @sciville I could Google When I was like 9, 16 year olds can definetly vote #16toVote
Amy33Amy33 #16tovote wouldn’t it tottally suck if you were 17 and your birthday was a week after the election
D_Summerville My polling place is the high school I teach at but only the teachers can vote. #16tovote #teachingfail @BarackObama
Amy33Amy33 #16toVote We’re in the school system, wouldn’t you like our opinions on the Education Budget?
Amy33Amy33 #16toVote When I was in Elementary School, we did a whole segment on how to vote and all the presidential candidates,What a waist of budget.
youthrights What if only the British could vote in US elections? Makes as much sense as only adults voting on school issues! #16tovote
flecktarnfox Everyone knows that during that time between when you’re 16 and 18, your brain goes from “idiot” to “genius” levels. #16tovote #sarcasm
sciville Not mature enough to vote? Nothing like picking random vague qualities, saying someone lacks it, and using it to deny rights. #16tovote
Amy33Amy33 #16tovote Maybe we should recongize Age as what it actually is, A Meaningless number.
flecktarnfox Dunno if letting 16-year-olds vote will bring the apocalypse, but I’m pretty sure not letting them vote will make you an asshole. #16tovote
sciville Is #16tovote unneeded since parents vote on kids’ behalf? Therefore, as an unmarried woman, I shouldn’t vote, as my dad votes on my behalf.
Amy33Amy33 Mature: Fully Developed in Body or Mind By that definition nobodys Mature, you never stop changing, look at my grandma! #16tovote
AlexRicci13 #16tovote It only makes sense that if you get taxed, you get a say in representation. It is what our country was founded on.
youthrights This is #16tovote on the 16th – Sunday Edition! Going great! Thanks so much, everyone! 🙂
youthrights Once again, here’s Top 10 Reasons to Lower the Voting Age! http://t.co/RRS0Ridu #16tovote
youthrights Think teens are apathetic about the issues? There is as much evidence against that as there are under-18s at #Occupy events! 🙂 #16tovote
youthrights In 19 states, students can still be paddled at school! Legally! If those students could vote, that would surely change! #16tovote
youthrights But since students can’t vote, officials feel safe saying maybe they should be paddled since they are sooo unruly! : #16tovote
arclights #iReallyHateWhenPeople deny other people’s rights just because they’re young. #16tovote, or better, 0.
arclights How much debt, to be paid by minors and the unborn, has our government issued to pay for programs for the middle-aged and elderly? #16tovote
arclights Smack your wife: horrible crime. Smack your teen daughter: perfectly legal. Why? Who wrote the laws? #16tovote
arclights Any adult who says that everyone over 18 is wise enough to vote, but no one under 18 is, disproves his own claim. #16tovote
arclights “Kids would just vote for the hot candidate.” “Oh, like Obama or Palin?” #16tovote #0tovote
Amy33Amy33 #16toVote Didn’t all you, who don’t support voting under 18, at some point in your youth wanted to vote and couldn’t? #hypocrites
youthrights Here’s NYRA President @UsielX speaking on free speech and voting rights at the Supreme Court! http://t.co/LP8enpOg #16tovote
youthrights Simple rights and liberties of youth can be snatched away by adult voters if they are convinced it’s “for their own good”. #16tovote
youthrights When old enough to vote, your choice of entertainment is much less likely to be legally limited “for your own good”. #16tovote
youthrights Voting in and of itself may not matter to some youth. But the rights that come with and are protected by it are worth it! #16tovote
Amy33Amy33 #16tovote Why Not? Is there 1 reason we shouldn’t vote that applys to all youth, and more importantly, a reason that only applys to youth?
youthrights Would this elected official encourage parental snooping if the kids were his voters? http://t.co/XC7tqLxq #16tovote
youthrights Ann Coulter said “Raise the voting age!” Then our own @kpalicz said “No! Lower the voting age!” http://t.co/Yp3gDU1A #16tovote
youthrights Mature responsible 17yo can’t vote. Her drunken abusive father can. Think about that. #16tovote
youthrights Adults are flooded with messages that teens are inferior, yet we trust them to vote on behalf of disenfranchised teens? Really? #16tovote
youthrights Teens are attacked defenseless at the ballot box with restrictive laws by adults made to believe negative stereotypes about them. #16tovote
Amy33Amy33 #16toVote We Call ourselfs land of the Free when people under 18 are oppressed? Not very free if you ask me…
Amy33Amy33 @BarackObama I would vote for you if the voting age was lowered while you were in office. So would many others. #16toVote
youthrights To improve public schools, how about granting voting rights to the people forced to go to them every day? #16tovote
youthrights “I am 16. I have a job and pay taxes.” http://t.co/h4YAqVY8 Once again, our voting age TV ad by @jnadel and @nyrasefl! #16tovote
youthrights Lowering the voting age and other youth rights causes are about breaking this obsession with 18 as when one begins to matter. #16tovote
sciville How come the creepy pervert down the street has more say in schools than the students who smartly avoid him do? #16tovote
youthrights It’s easy to fall back on anti-youth prejudices and oppose #16tovote, but in the long run, it hurts us all. So speak up for youth now!
youthrights The denial of the right to vote requires compelling state interest. Baseless fears about teens aren’t compelling interest. #16tovote
youthrights Vague assumptions of some ill-defined teenage immaturity are not “compelling interest” to deny voting rights. #16tovote
youthrights Concern that teens would vote for all the “wrong reasons” is not “compelling interest” to deny them voting rights! #16tovote
taradinoc #16tovote because young people have the passion that drives things like #occupywallstreet
JBBdude #16tovote because I know MANY young people who are more mature than #OccupyWallStreet folk.
youthrights So… why are we saying 16 anyway? Here’s an explanation: http://t.co/7mfPeSpx #16tovote
Amy33Amy33 #16tovote because youth oppression opens the door to many other types of oppression like racism, sexism, and the like.
youthrights Dispelling common negative assumptions about teen voting is one step towards a lower voting age, but of course there’s more to do! #16tovote
youthrights All of us who support a lower voting age MUST speak up about it, MUST remind everyone teens are individual people and have rights! #16tovote
youthrights We must speak up about lowering the voting age to our elected officials, in city halls, in state houses, in our communities! #16tovote
youthrights Most importantly, speak up about lowering the voting age among the youth, so long told they don’t matter, when they matter much! #16tovote
youthrights “Not one of these ballots is representing clearly the interests of youth!” -@UsielX http://t.co/pWItqvno #16tovote
the_boy #16toVote because democracy is awesome when fueled by the righteous fire of youth
youthrights I wonder just what these supposed “wrong votes” are that some claim All Teens would cast. #16tovote
flecktarnfox I support #16tovote, and youth rights in general, because limiting a person’s rights over something as stupid as their age is simply wrong.
youthrights I also wonder where those who claim to know how All Teens would vote when they can’t yet are getting their psychic abilities. 😛 #16tovote
youthrights Are unemployed 35-year-olds blocked from voting? No? Then stop using unemployment as a reason teens shouldn’t vote! #16tovote
SDashevsky I support the #16ToVote movement because discrimination is wrong.
JBBdude @youthrights Youth unemployment is one reason teens NEED the vote. Unemployed adults are looking to compete w/youth to get jobs. #16tovote
youthrights Are 35-year-olds who live with parents blocked from voting? No? Then dependence on parents is not a reason teens shouldn’t vote! #16tovote
youthrights Two and a half hours left for this #16tovote on the 16th – Sunday Edition! Such great contributions today! 🙂
sciville “Teens shouldn’t vote! They don’t understand American values!” Yes, because it was teens who passed the Patriot Act, right? #16tovote
sciville “Just wait 2 years!” Yeah, because every election has identical candidates and issues apparently. *rolleyes* #16tovote
sciville “Just wait 2 years!” Right, wait until you’ve graduated, then you can vote on issues regarding your school! #16tovote
ClevelandRock @youthrights I think a “wrong vote” is an uneducated vote. Teenagers aren’t as informed as adults who obviously know everything. #16tovote
sciville “Teens would just vote for celebrities!” Gasp! You’re right! We could totally have ended up with Ronald Reagan as president! #16tovote
sciville “Just wait 2 years!” Why start voting when still in your home town? Figure it out when in an unfamiliar college town! #16tovote
sciville Goodness, imagine if teens could vote! They might… VOTE! And feel empowered! And feel like part of the community! Oh noes! #16tovote
youthrights A classic from 2004! http://t.co/Mrg7uRLH It’s @kpalicz debating lowering the voting age on Fox News! #16tovote
youthrights It’s the abusive adults, not the abused youth, who can vote for the legislators who determine what legally counts as child abuse. #16tovote
youthrights Voting teens could encourage their previously non-voting parents to vote! 🙂 #16tovote
halphillips The smartest, most mature, most well-informed 17-year-old in America can’t legally vote, but Snooki can. #16tovote
youthrights It’s very hard to get emancipated, depending on state. Perhaps if teens could vote on those setting these laws, it’d be easier! #16tovote
youthrights It’s very hard to get emancipated, depending on state. Perhaps if teens could vote on those setting these laws, it’d be easier! #16tovote
youthrights Our own Samantha Godwin challenges the voting age in “Children’s Oppression, Rights, and Liberation” http://t.co/lUXlMkdv #16tovote
youthrights Big question with a lower voting age is, how will teens vote? Well, we can’t know that. All we can say is… however they want! #16tovote
youthrights Prepare for teen suffrage! Engage them and speak to their issues. STOP marginalizing them and saying they have undeveloped brains! #16tovote
youthrights Stop saying too immature, dependent, or uninformed. We don’t stop adults from voting despite these flaws. Why stop teens? #16tovote
teh_maxh We only do #16tovote because months aren’t 0-indexed.
andyking785 Because it’s their future you’re irresponsibly legislating. #16tovote
youthrights Only reason youth curfew laws exist is that those enacting them set them only upon those who can’t vote them out for it. #16tovote
youthrights Half an hour to go for #16tovote on the 16th – Sunday Edition! Let’s give it a great finish! 😀
SnipeMe On this #16tovote – VOTING IS A RIGHT, STUPID! http://t.co/0cwp4Hou
youthrights Owners and staff of and parents who send their teens to (legal) abusive behavior mod facilities can vote. Teens sent there can’t. #16tovote
youthrights Lowering the voting age is one sure way to help make public schools less oppressive, with students having an actual SAY! #16tovote
sciville “Most adults don’t want teens voting.” Goodness, if every social equality movement waited around for privileged’s consensus…! #16tovote
youthrights So here we are at the end of the 21st run of #16tovote on the 16th, still going strong, still demanding a lower voting age!
youthrights Even within our own org, we differ on finer points of youth rights philosophy, but we ALL agree the voting age is too high! #16tovote
youthrights This is not purely theoretical. We intend for our own chapters, members, and allies to lower the voting age, even if just locally. #16tovote
youthrights Several other countries have done it. US towns and states have come VERY close! A lower voting age is very much within reach! #16tovote
youthrights It will happen. No question. Get ready. With a lower voting age comes TRUE youth empowerment and involvement! #16tovote
youthrights And with that TRUE youth empowerment and involvement, youth will no longer be just “minors”, but fully equal members of society! #16tovote
flecktarnfox Squeezing in one last #16tovote tweet. свобода!
youthrights So with the inevitabilty of a lower voting age and youth empowerment, will you stand with us or in the way of us? Stand with us! #16tovote
youthrights And… that’s it for this Sunday Edition of #16tovote on the 16th! Thanks so much everyone! Timeline-clogging credits soon! 🙂
BakeMakes Folks have used studies of brain maturity 2 argue against teens voting. So, should the mentally challenged not be allowed to vote? #16tovote
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @evilfoods @ErikBraghirol @sciville @sableverity @Jordan_Carr @BakeMakes @flecktarnfox @ProjectScenario
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @vibewire @eupraxsophic @TheBeckyford @underbellie @silverwolf1977 @Amy33Amy33 @ForeverAsking @Livable4All
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @Kaviraj2 @D_Summerville @milenapec @AlexRicci13 @StrawberryTech @arclights @SnipeMe @TheLillyTheory @EIFY
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @_mattjohnson @nwparsons @taradinoc @JBBdude @agnijaLV @the_boy @creesee56 @Midtowncdo @Ms_UK_American
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @JonSM99 @ClevelandRock @Duke_of_Vandals @kpalicz @halphillips @quirkykatie @MaxKaminCross @teh_maxh
youthrights Thanks for the #16tovote tweets! @andyking785 @Wildcats_RD @Baby_Love_Child And thanks to anyone I missed!
youthrights We do it all again Wednesday, November 16, the 22nd run of #16tovote on the 16th! Goodnight, everybody! 😀
Until then!
