Supporting local governments implementing new Vote 16 policies
The Vote 16 Implementation Guide is out! It provides a step-by-step outline for local governments to follow to ensure Vote 16 policies achieve their full potential for positive civic impact.
When we started the Vote 16 Research Network back in summer 2021, one of our key goals was to learn from the communities that have already implemented Vote 16 polices in the United States. Working with the activists and elected officials who passed these policies and the city clerks charged with implementing them, we have been able to learn some important lessons.
The number of 16 and 17 year olds impacted by Vote 16 policies is set to grow dramatically this year as Newark , Brattleboro VT, Oakland and Berkeley are all preparing to implement new Vote 16 policies.
The Vote 16 Implementation Guide is intended to educate local election officials about the key steps they must take to implement Vote 16 policy effectively.
The full guide is now available and a summary of the key steps is below.
Please share this guide with anyone interested in Vote 16 and especially with local election officials in your community. We are so grateful to the 5 city clerks in Maryland who have been amazing trail blazers over the last decade implementing the first Vote 16 policies in the United States and especially to Laura Reams in Hyattsville and Jessie Carpenter in Takoma Park who provided invaluable insights and ideas for this guide.
Sam Novey is Chief Strategist at the University of Maryland Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement.
Amy Meli is a Doctoral Candidate in Government and Politics at the University of Maryland as a Research Fellow in the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement.