Vote 16 Summer Meeting is this Thursday (6/29) at 3:30 EST - join us!
We have an amazing agenda on tap for the Vote 16 Research Network Summer Meeting. Join us to hear a report back from our delegation to Scotland and updates on new research and Vote 16 campaigns.
Dear Friends,
This past week I was so honored to help lead the American delegation to the Vote 16 Global Research Meeting at the University of Edinburgh. Along with Krisha Ramani of Vote 16 Michigan and Julia Rottenberg of Vote 16 Culver City, I was able to share a bit about what we’re learning from efforts to lower the voting age in American communities.
On June 29, I’m thrilled to be leading and facilitating the Vote 16 Research Network Summer Meeting. We have an amazing agenda planned out (see below!). Here are the details to join us:
Vote 16 Research Network Summer Meeting
Date: June 29, 2023
Time: 3:30pm Eastern, 2:30 Central, 1:30 Mountain, 12:30 Pacific
Zoom link to join: https://umd.zoom.us/j/4353643115
Phone option: +13017158592,,4353643115#
I hope you’ll join us!
Best,
Jahnavi Rao
Senior Fellow, UMD Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement
President and Founder, New Voters
Vote 16 Research Network Summer Meeting Agenda
Here is what we will be discussing on Thursday!
1) Report back from Vote 16 Global Research Meeting in Scotland
Pictured left to right: Julia Rottenberg (17), Krisha Ramani (18) and Jahnavi Rao (23)
As part of the United States delegation to the “Votes at 16 around the world – Deepening Collaborations” workshop at the University of Edinburgh, Krisha Ramani, Founder of Vote16 Michigan, Julia Rottenberg, President of Vote16 Culver City, and Jahnavi Rao, President and Founder of New Voters, flew to Scotland last week. At the meeting, Krisha, Julia and Jahnavi will share the major takeaways and next steps from their day-long meeting with researchers and practitioners from across the globe who are at the forefront of Vote16 research.
2) Report back from recent elections in Vote 16 Municipalities!
Hear from Laura Reams, Director of Communications & Legislative Affairs for the City of Hyattsville, about how the City of Hyattsville had their highest ever turnout for 16/17 year olds in this past election at 25%!
As part of their ElectionFest event, the City of Hyattsville held a youth vote referendum on the question, "Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich?", getting future voters out to the polling center on election day. After they voted in the youth referendum, kids had the opportunity to complete their future voter eligibility cards noting the year in which they would become eligible to vote in Hyattsville elections. They also held an "I Voted" sticker contest this year, printing the winning stickers and handed them out to voters on Election Day.
3) Update on Vote 16 Messaging Research
Last summer, we established through messaging research that Americans are much more open to lowering the voting age than we had previously understood. At the meeting we will share more about our strategy to understand whether voters respond better to messages about the knowledge or engagement of young people.
4) Presentation of LWV Maine Voting Age Study
Hear from the League of Women Voters of Maine about their new voting age study and its important implications for Vote 16 advocacy in the United States.
5) Preview of Vote 16 DC Feasibility Study!
One of the most prominent cities where lowering the voting age is legally and politically feasible is Washington DC. A Vote 16 campaign there in 2018 appeared on the verge of passing before being defeated by a single vote in the city council. Join us to learn more about the new campaign that is being organized by local partners to pass Vote 16 by 2025 in Washington DC.
DC Kids Action has created a fantastic policy brief detailing "The Case for Expanding the Vote to Younger Voters" that will be a focus in our Fall Vote 16 meeting and featured in a future substack post. You can preview the brief here: https://www.wearedcaction.org/vote-16-case-expanding-vote-younger-voters
6) Update on the Vote 16 Implementation Guide
In January, we announced a new partnership with UMD School of Public Policy students to develop a Vote 16 Implementation Guide for local election officials. The students completed a draft as part of their spring course work. Now our steering committee will review the materials and decide how to move forward towards a published resource.
The Vote 16 Research Network Summer Meeting is a great chance to take this work to the next level! Join us!
Jahnavi Rao is a Senior Fellow at the University of Maryland Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement and Founder of New Voters.