learn from the inspiring Vote 16 Culver City campaign this Wednesday!
After years of work, Vote 16 Culver City is on the cusp of passing a ballot measure lowering the voting age to 16 for local elections. Join us on Wednesday to learn from their success.
Join us this Wednesday at 6:30 Eastern / 5:30 Central / 4:30 Mountain / 3:30 Pacific for an *amazing* opportunity to learn from the leaders of the Vote 16 Culver City campaign.
In the Vote 16 Research Network, we have been studying American public attitudes about lowering the voting age to 16 and what messages can make those attitudes change. In the 2022 election, we have a unique opportunity to learn from an amazing youth led campaign that has succeeded in getting a Vote 16 proposal on the ballot in Culver City, California.
That’s why I am so excited to invite all of you to join us this Wednesday at 6:30 ET / 3:30 PT to hear from the leaders of the Vote 16 Culver City campaign.
You can join us at this zoom link: https://umd.zoom.us/j/6911098822
Why are we hosting this workshop now?
Something important and special and deserving of our attention and admiration is happening in Culver City, California! Vote 16 Culver City, a youth led initiative based out of Culver City High School, has been advocating since 2019 to lower the voting age to 16 for municipal and school board elections.
In June 2022, Vote 16 Culver City succeeded in getting a ballot measure placed on this November’s ballot that will let Culver City voters decide the issue in the November General Election. Vote 16 Culver City’s perseverance and success in persuading elected officials to support this measure is a great case study in the public opinion dynamics we have observed in our research.
Here is a news report from the city council meeting where Vote 16 Culver City succeeded in getting a Vote 16 question onto Culver City ballots this fall.
[Some] speakers believed that 16-year-olds are not ready to vote, that their cognitive abilities are not yet fully developed. One speaker said that it’s “creepy” to burden 16-year-olds with adult issues. Somebody else pointed to a recent brawl at school as proof that they shouldn’t be voting. Two representatives from Vote16 described the arguments against as “anecdotal,” stating that 16 year olds can pay taxes and are often engaged so [they] should get a vote. In previous meetings, it had been pointed out that many adults don’t have the cognitive ability to understand the vote but aren’t excluded, and neither should they be. Council Member Yasmine Imani McMorrin said that, “Young folks have done extensive work over a number of years to allow our community to have a say. I thank the young voices that came out… People will attack your values, intelligence, and attempt to discredit you… but I see you.” Mayor Daniel Lee thanked the young voices for the consistency of their message over the years as their members changed, as did the City Council.
This is a great example of what we have seen in messaging experiments conducted by scholars in the Vote 16 Research Network. Many Americans are initially skeptical of lowering the voting age to 16. But that discomfort is not strongly held. Support for Vote 16 policies increases dramatically when voters and elected officials directly interact with young people engaged in positive civic actions and are primed to think about this type of youth action.
And that type of exposure has been extremely persuasive so far in Culver City. The Vote 16 Culver City campaign has been painstakingly building support council person by council person, school board member by school board member, local party committee by local party committee.
This painstaking work has yielded impressive results. Two weeks ago, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party - the organizational arm of the dominant governing political party for over 10 million people living in America’s most populous county - endorsed the Vote 16 Culver City campaign.
Now Vote 16 Culver City faces their biggest test yet - the voters of Culver City. There is so much we can ALL learn from the work that Vote 16 Culver City is doing. How are they getting their message in front of voters? Exposure to young people doing great civic work is a key to persuasion but it so difficult to do at scale! What strategies are working for Vote 16 Culver City? What have their challenges been? How are they working with validators in government and party infrastructure to make their message compelling? The Vote 16 Culver City campaign has been using academic research in their messaging. How is that research perceived by voters? What types of research would they like to see the Vote 16 Research Network pursue?
We will dive into all these questions - and more - on Wednesday. So I hope Vote 16 Research Network partners of all kinds - from advocacy and government and academe and philanthropy and education and more - will join us for this workshop with the Vote 16 Culver City team! This is an extraordinary opportunity to celebrate their leadership and continue to learn together about what happens when we lower the voting age (and propose lowering the voting age!) in the United States.
Join us at 6:30 ET / 3:30 PT on Wednesday: https://umd.zoom.us/j/6911098822