Oregon lawmakers seek to lower voting age in state to 16, so teens can ‘protect their future’
Yeah, just what we need!
Yeah, just what we need!
Teens are “begging us to take action to protect their future," she added. OPB reported that she referenced the student activists from Parkland, Florida, who launched the “Never Again” movement in the wake of the 2018 mass shooting at their high school.
Several Oregon student activists spoke at the press conference about why they deserved the right to vote before age 18.
"We need to be able to take our work to the ballot and protect the policies we’re working so hard to pass,” South Salem High School senior Maria Torres said.
Pressing issues affecting young people have brought the voting age down before. It used to be 21 before the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1971, lowered it to 18. The amendment was fueled in part by teenagers facing the draft for the Vietnam War, which had become increasingly unpopular.
Congress had lowered the voting age in 1970 for state and federal offices, but Oregon objected to a lower minimum age being foisted on its state elections. It insisted the law was unconstitutional and won in the U.S. Supreme Court. This led to the successful push for the 26th amendment.
Several Oregon student activists spoke at the press conference about why they deserved the right to vote before age 18.
"We need to be able to take our work to the ballot and protect the policies we’re working so hard to pass,” South Salem High School senior Maria Torres said.
Pressing issues affecting young people have brought the voting age down before. It used to be 21 before the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1971, lowered it to 18. The amendment was fueled in part by teenagers facing the draft for the Vietnam War, which had become increasingly unpopular.
Congress had lowered the voting age in 1970 for state and federal offices, but Oregon objected to a lower minimum age being foisted on its state elections. It insisted the law was unconstitutional and won in the U.S. Supreme Court. This led to the successful push for the 26th amendment.
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