Vote 16

In this first unit, Legislate, of my Humanities class, Policy, we studied the Legislative Branch of the United States government. What was really amazing was our field experience to Chicago's City Council Financial Planning Committee. 

March for Our Lives, Hiu To. Washington, DC (2018)

MDS
GCE Lab School
1535 N. Dayton
Chicago, IL 60642

April 30, 2018
Illinois House Representative District 19
Robert F. Martwick
5940 N. Milwaukee Ave
Suite 101
Chicago, IL 60646

Dear Representative Martwick,

We as a country value democracy above almost everything else. Voting is a large source of pride in the US and is something that many other countries do not allow. While I love that our country values democracy, there is a huge portion of our population being silenced, a group that I am proud to be a part of the cohort of 16- and 17- year olds. As a 16-year-old, I am expected to act like an adult, choosing my career and college, getting a job, and staying up to date on current events, yet I am treated like a child. I am ‘too young’ to understand issues like gun violence and education policy, things that affect me and my generation every single day.

Across the world, teenagers continue to be powerful and brave activists, yet we are told to stop simply because of our age, and we have no power in choosing the people who should represent everyone, not just those who have traveled around the sun more times than we have. In Takoma Park, Hyattsville and Greenbelt, Maryland, the only cities in the United States that have lowered the voting age, voting rates of 16- and 17-year olds have been higher than any other demographic, according to an interview with USA Today. We need to establish a habit of voting. Evidence from the cities in Maryland that have lowered the age, and from Europe such as in Austria and Norway have shown that people who start voting earlier are much more likely to continue, and in Takoma Park, Maryland, the voting rate for 16 and 17-year-olds was higher than any other age group.

While many people are worried that teenagers are too naive or not educated enough, the truth is, Generation Z is the most educated generation of all time. According to Lucie Greene from the Innovation Group, more people are graduating high school, going to college, and getting high-level degrees than ever before. With the spread and continued use of social media, teenagers are becoming more and more connected to people all over the world with different backgrounds and views. Of Generation Z’ers, thirty-three percent watch lessons online, twenty percent read textbooks online, and thirty-two work with classmates online, shown with JWT Intelligence’s study.

In the news recently has been the powerful and influential protests from teenagers against gun violence. After decades of nearly constant school shootings and continued street and police violence, it has finally been my generation, all eighteen or under, who have done something. And not just something: we have stood up and spoken, led rallies and marches, installed art, appeared on television, met with lawmakers, and shared our personal stories with the world. To deny my generation the right to vote is to silence the most influential activists of our time. It is an act of fear, of what we could accomplish if you gave us the power we need.

Please, consider the acts of Maryland, of Austria, of Norway, of Washington, DC, and realize how many intelligent, deserving people you are silencing. Please propose and support an act to lower the voting age to 16-years old, and allow my generation to cause even more positive change in the world.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
MDS