Canada
Last Updated: October 28, 1999
Read Bob Franklin's excellent article insisting that kids have a fundamental Right to vote
Children's Bill of Rights a great site dedicated to reducing the voting age to 14.
Why Children
Should have the Right to Vote A Kids Rights Site
KidsNews1
Read kids' discussions on whether or not they should have the right to
vote.
United States
Organizations
YouthSpeak An Organization dedicated to youth voting rights, now almost 800 members strong.
Association of Minor Persons (AMP) An organization of young people and adults dedicated to youth rights in general and a lower voting age in particular.
Americans for a Society free From Age Restrictions (ASFAR) One of the first youth rights orgs. Founded in 1996, it supports a lower voting age, and an end to all youth based discrimination.
Association for Children's Suffrage A first of its kind organization that's fighting the good fight for kids' fundamental right to vote!
Teen Rights Home Page Progressive group advocates lowering voting age to sixteen.
Legislation-Pending
Minnesota- 1999- Three legislators have proposed a bill to lower
the voting age to sixteen. Read about HF1250 here
.
Legislation-Decided
Cambridge, Massachusetts-1999- The vote on a proposal to lower the city voting age to sixteen ended in a 4-4 tie. The bill was not enacted into law. You can read about this here . Just search under "voting age".
Warren City, Michigan-1997- A proposal to lower the city voting age to seventeen was defeated by the City Council. You can read about it here.
California-1995- A proposal for a constitutional amendment to lower the voting age to fourteen by Jackie Spiers was defeated in committee without reaching a vote.
Oregon, 1995- A proposal was made by the Oregon Youth Caucus, and other youth rights supporters to lower the voting age to sixteen. It was not enacted into law.
Minnesota-1989- Phyllis Kahn and Sandra Pappas proposed a constitutional amendment to lower the state voting age to twelve. Suffice it to say the bill never made it out of committee.
Canada
Canada- 1994- The case of Reid v. Canada : Should Kids have the vote at 12? This is the only court case I have ever seen on the issue of youth voting rights. I had a link to this case but it no longer works.
Canadian Youth Rights Association (CYRA)
THE major youth rights organization in Canada. It strongly supports
a lower voting age.
The Rest of the World
Scottish National Party The Party advocates lowering the voting age to sixteen.