Lower Voting Age To 16, Green Party Senate Candidate In NJ Says

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Lots of candidates say they want young people to be more politically engaged. But how many are willing to entrust a senior role on their campaign team to a teenager?

Last week, Madelyn Hoffman, the New Jersey Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020, floated an idea that raised some eyebrows: the United States should lower the voting age to 16.

Hoffman offered the example of one of her campaign’s youngest supporters, Matthew Skolar, a 17-year-old outreach coordinator on her 2020 battle against Sen. Cory Booker, as a reason why teens can be just as politically adept as adults.

Standing in solidarity with Skolar at the Latino Action Network’s 10th annual Legislative Conference earlier this month in Newark, Hoffman lauded his enthusiastic speech about the importance of uplifting youth voices, especially from marginalized communities.

“I fully support a change in policy to allow 16-year-olds to have the right to vote,” Hoffman wrote in an op-ed. (Read her full statement below)

These teens have just as much stake in the real-world decisions of their elected officials as their 18-year-old peers, Hoffman argued. Some of those issues include:

• EMPLOYMENT – “If they are working, the minimum wage is extremely important.”
• BEHIND THE WHEEL – “If they are driving, policies regarding the gas tax or infrastructure repair matter.”
• WAR/CLIMATE CHANGE – “Current 16 and 17-year-olds, because they were born after 9/11/2001, do not know what it's like for the nation to be at peace or even what it’s like to not feel concern about climate change. They are approaching the age when they could choose to enlist and a time when they are particularly concerned about saving the planet.”

Lowering the voting age would also affect schools, force states to develop or change their civics curriculum, Hoffman said.

“If we changed the voting age to 16, we would send waves of panic throughout our system of education,” Hoffman stated. “If a sophomore or junior in high school is allowed to vote, the school system would need to adjust and spend more time in middle school and in high school, preparing those students to be informed voters.”

“I think our society once valued voting in that way -- my parents, born in 1928 and in 1930 respectively -- often spoke to me about the courses they took in civics growing up,” Hoffman continued. “Virtually none of those classes remain today. In fact, when I was Ralph Nader’s vice-presidential running mate in New Jersey in 1996, he would often say that in today’s world, we grow up corporate instead of civic.”

“And he saw that as a major problem,” Hoffman emphasized.

“Lowering the voting age to 16 will empower youth and will have a ripple effect on us all -- creating a new generation of extremely well-informed and politically engaged people who may actually be able to take action and change the history of the U.S. for the better,” Hoffman urged.

YOUNGEST ELECTED OFFICIAL IN NJ

Skolar isn’t the only teen taking control of his or her own future in New Jersey.

In January, 18-year-old Jamie Serruto, the youngest elected official in the Garden State, began his tenure on the Millburn Board of Education. Serruto, who said he considers himself “fiscally conservative” and “socially liberal,” said he isn’t planning to be a mere “student voice” for the board; he’s going to be a “full board member who happens to know what’s going on in the district.”

The Millburn High School senior class president recently advocated for the district’s proposed $20.5 million capital plan, a referendum that passed last month.

• See related article: Youngest Elected Official In NJ Begins Term In Millburn

MADELYN HOFFMAN ON LOWERING THE VOTING AGE

Hoffman offered the following op-ed to Patch on Sunday.

“When was the last time you heard a candidate for public office speak about the lack of political engagement in this country? The highest level of voter participation in the past 30 years was the mediocre 62% achieved in 2008 when Barack Obama challenged John McCain, and independent candidates including Ralph Nader and Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney. You would think this low voter turnout would cause alarm bells to go off, but it has been just the opposite. It also means that only a paltry 27% to 33% of those eligible to vote in this country have voted for each of our recent presidents.

“I know I have bemoaned this lack of political participation for many years. But come to think of it, it’s very rare for me to hear a candidate from either of the two mainstream political parties mention it -- or even raise their eyebrows. Instead, it seems like these candidates identify those who are voting -- focus groups come to mind -- and craft their message to appeal to the smaller and smaller segment of the U.S. population taking advantage of the opportunity to vote.

“I’m not sure if it concerns me more as an American Government professor, a Green Party candidate for public office, or an activist for peace and the environment. While it concerns me in all these ways, it is probably the most as a college professor. Year after year, since 1997, I have been fortunate enough to teach at least one class in political science. I would describe this disturbing phenomenon in the following manner.

“Imagine yourself as the victim of a stroke. Your body is completely paralyzed on one side -- but the other side is functioning well enough to do basic tasks. Would you want your doctor to say, “I'm sorry, but this side is in truly terrible shape. My advice is to forget all about rehabbing that side and concentrate all of your time on making your partially functional side perform better,” or have your doctor say, “You know, we can make significant progress working to rehab this side, but I don’t think you want me as your doctor to ignore your other side. I have seen instances when with enough concentration, focus and time, some of the functions of stroke-affected limbs can be restored. I suggest we work on both sides of your body and see what progress we can make.”

“Personally, I would want to work with the second doctor, the one who is unwilling to ignore a part of my body that, at least for the moment, isn’t working properly. I would want a politician to do the same. And I would want any candidate for public office to do the same. I speak of myself here, as I am the New Jersey Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020.

“It is in that spirit that I fully support a change in policy to allow 16 year olds to have the right to vote. When I mention this in my political science classes, many of my students question it. They realize that even at their age, many of them are not knowledgeable about politics, let alone 16 year olds. I acknowledge their concern, but suggest that younger voting ages will have the effect of creating many civically engaged young people who are ready to vote because it would force states to develop or change their civics curriculum.

“If we changed the voting age to 16, we would send waves of panic throughout our system of education. If a sophomore or junior in high school is allowed to vote, the school system would need to adjust and spend more time in middle school and in high school, preparing those students to be informed voters. I think our society once valued voting in that way -- my parents, born in 1928 and in 1930 respectively -- often spoke to me about the courses they took in civics growing up. Virtually none of those classes remain today. In fact, when I was Ralph Nader’s vice-presidential running mate in New Jersey in 1996, he would often say that in today’s world we grow up corporate instead of civic. And he saw that as a major problem.

“However, if a student was permitted to vote at the age of 16, well -- perhaps that would create the urgency necessary to go back to teaching civics, to go back to teaching young people about who represents them -- who has the final power to make decisions that affect their lives -- and would make it cool for young people to go to city council meetings or county freeholder meetings and make a statement about what matters to them. In my years as an activist, I can’t tell you how moving and powerful it is when someone under the age of 18 speaks about an issue affecting them. The older, more seasoned and sometimes more cynical politicians stand up and take notice.

“I have administered a survey to each and every one of my many political science classes over the years. The survey includes basic questions about how many people represent us, how justices are placed on the U.S. Supreme Court, or what Congressional District people live in. No matter which school is involved -- community colleges or private universities -- the result is almost always the same. With the exception of a handful of students, no one knows the answers to these questions basic to the functioning of a healthy representative democracy.

“I am a firm believer in the ability of each of us to affect history, especially when we understand that we have the power to affect change. Lowering the voting age to 16 will empower youth and will have a ripple effect on us all -- creating a new generation of extremely well-informed and politically engaged people who may actually be able to take action and change the history of the U.S. for the better. I am backing up my words by putting a 17 year old in a senior campaign position. Clearly, 16 and 17 year olds are affected by both U.S. foreign and domestic policies. If they are working, the minimum wage is extremely important. If they are driving, policies regarding the gas tax or infrastructure repair matter. Current 16 and 17 year olds, because they were born after 9/11/01, do not know what it's like for the nation to be at peace or even what it’s like to not feel concern about climate change. They are approaching the age when they could choose to enlist and a time when they are particularly concerned about saving the planet. Certainly they would have a vested interest in voting now. Let's give 16 and 17 year olds a chance to change all that!

“We can make some other important changes to increase civic participation and voter turnout. We can implement Ranked Choice Voting like Maine has to release us from voting for the lesser of two evils, expand tuition-free college programs, forgive student debt and abolish the Electoral College.”

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