Amid book bans and school shootings, NJ teens demand a voice with Vote16 campaign

Between book bans and increased school shootings around the country, teenage students from the Garden State have taken a stand by forming their own political campaign — Vote16.

Vote16 seeks to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in municipal/school board elections and be able to voice the issues that affect them such as school curiculum, discrimination and gun violence, according to the Vote16 website.

And the young activists have a growing number of Democratic support.

On Oct. 5, Gov. Phil Murphy and other state officials, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, attended the teen activist conference “Vote 16 Youth Summit” hosted by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice held at Rutgers University Newark campus and voiced their support behind the bill introduced to Legislature.

Their promise is to move it through the Legislature this year, but, according to a report, the proposed statewide bill sent in May to both the Senate and State Assembly has not been scheduled for committee hearings.

But the task faces pushback from both Republican and Democratic parties.

Supporters like Murphy agree that voting at a young age can build lifelong voting habits and champions youth enfranchisement laws. But critics have suggested that it is a way to make kids political pawns and some even considered the idea to allow teens to vote in other elections becomes a slippery slope, the report stated.

According to research from Public Religion Research Institute, 51% of teens ages 13-17 do not identify as a Democrat or Republican, but most share their parents’ party affiliation.

However, the Vote16 campaign outlines a few factors many16-year-olds already face that directly impact them: working, paying taxes, being primary caregivers, running businesses and contributing financially to their households. Some already engage in social activism like advocating for climate change, women’s and LGBTQ rights, immigration, gun control and Black Lives Matter.

If approved, the bill would permit 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in elections for local school boards across New Jersey. The state would be the first to extend voting rights to people younger than 18.

“Once I sign this legislation into law, each one of you will be able to say that you played a part in making New Jersey the first state in the entire nation to secure voting rights for Americans as young as 16-year-olds,” Gov. Murphy said at the summit. “It will be an historic accomplishment that began right here, in Newark.”

In the beginnig of the year, Newark City Council passed a law allowing teens 16 and up to vote in school board races in January. Students will begin to vote in January of 2025.