Voting Rights
What are youth voting rights?
Youth voting rights are the right to vote for those under 18 accomplished through a Constitutional Amendment or Constitutional Challenge.
Why give young people the right to vote?
The voting age is an immensely discriminatory thing that bans young people from exercising the most important right of citizenship - voting! America is supposed to be a democracy and in democracies there is free and universal sufferage. If young people are not given the same rights as other citizens than America is not a true democracy.
As Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren once said "The right to vote freely for the candidate of one's choice is of the essence of a democratic society, and any restrictions on that right strike at the heart of representative government."Young people deserve the right to vote:
1. They pay taxes: All pay sales taxes, many pay federal and state taxes on summer and school year employment. Taxation without representation violates the spirit of the Decelaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
2. Youth are greatly affected by everything government does: We are affected by government decisions on education, health care, the environment, taxes, and military spending. If war with Serbia is declared millions of teens may find themselves fighting in a war which they had no political voice in initiating.
http://www.oblivion.net/youthspeak/votepp.html
The Amendments
The State Amendment
Section 1: The right of citizens of the United States and the State of (insert state here) to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the State of (insert state here) on account of age.
Section 2: The State of (insert state here) shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
The Federal Amendment
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
What you can do
Petition to Congress
Check out YouthSpeak's petition to Congress of the United States of America for an elimination or lowering of the voting age. Please read and sign.
The FAQ
Email YouthSpeak for questions and comments to put in the FAQ.