Vote 16 Group

UCLA hosted this year’s Vote16 National Convening. The energy was high as hundreds of young changemakers, civic engagement leaders, policy advocates, and elected officials gathered, the largest convening thus far. Their motive: to discuss and educate on everything Vote16.

Vote16USA is a national campaign dedicated to extending the right to vote at the local level to 16 and 17-year-olds in America. Since its launch in 2015, the initiative has fostered widespread campaigning and fought for policies that work to empower our youth. And the movement has seen great progress. Several cities across America have made changes to their local election laws. In fact, as a direct result of Vote16, our very own Berkeley allowed 16 and 17-year-olds to vote for their school board in last year’s election. And during this last election, Albany’s citizens voted “yes” to lowering the voting age for all local elections.

Alex Li

The National Convening is a time for young Vote16 advocates from across the country to meet and learn through the use of educational workshops and speakers, and through each other. Throughout this year’s convening, which took place on August 5th and 6th, panels were held with many young organizers who have done great work to advocate for the spread of Vote16 in their respective cities. Alex Li was one of these young organizers who attended the convening. Li formerly served as a criminal justice intern in the LWVBAE’s Helene Lecar Civic Engagement Program and went on to be our youngest recorded board member. She spoke on a panel at the convening as a representative and leader of Vote16 efforts and successes in Albany alongside two other advocates from the Bay Area. “I learned so much talking to high school students leading campaigns in their cities,” Li said, reflecting on her time there. “I think what stuck out the most was the diversity of backgrounds represented there.” And diverse they were. Participants were drawn from all over the country, coming from over 10 states.

Amplified in the minds of all those who attended the convening was just how important and powerful their mission is. That sense of purpose was affirmed by the presence of so many determined young people, all fighting vigorously for the same cause.

In this current age, cracks have begun to show in our democratic system of government and the way it operates. This was something greatly considered by the youth who participated throughout their time at the convening. “I think lowering the voting age is so important because it strengthens our democracy by instilling voting and civic participation as a habit,” Li said. “Lowering the voting age to 16 is an especially urgent effort now as we are forced to reckon with the weaknesses of our democratic system and come up with solutions to strengthen it.”

–Isabelle Oppelt