Blog de Dunlap: Danielle, will you add your name as a grassroots co-sponsor of the Youth Voting Rights Act?

Here's a question for you, Danielle: do you know which Constitutional amendment got ratified the fastest?

No need to go to Wikipedia or crack open a textbook: it was the 26th Amendment, which said that Americans aged 18 or older couldn't be denied the right to vote based on their age.

That was ratified in 1971. But even now, more than 50 years later, young Americans who are eligible to vote still face too many barriers on their way to the ballot box.

Their provisional ballots get rejected at high rates. They don't have accessible enough polling places. They're up against restrictive residency and voter ID requirements. They even face age-based restrictions on access to vote-by-mail.

And Republicans in state legislatures across this country remain hellbent on passing voter suppression laws that silence youth voices and make it harder for them to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

So I just reintroduced a bill alongside Representative Nikema Williams — the Youth Voting Rights Act of 2023. It's a comprehensive piece of legislation that would enforce the 26th Amendment, expand youth access to voting, and make sure young people can have a say in their own future.

To get this done, we need to show Washington that the American people are demanding action. Will you add your name as a citizen co-sponsor of our Youth Voting Rights Act, Danielle, and help get this over the finish line?

ADD YOUR NAME

Here's some of what this legislation would accomplish:

Allow young people in every state to pre-register to vote before they turn 18, ensuring that they can cast their ballots as soon as they're eligible.
Require an on-campus polling place at every institute of higher education.
Expand voter registration services at colleges and universities.
Guarantee that people can use their student IDs to meet states' voter ID requirements in federal elections.
Prohibit restrictive residency requirements for voting in federal elections, and codify the right to vote from the place where you're attending college.
Create a grant program for states to encourage youth involvement in elections.
Prevent states from placing age limits on no-excuse vote-by-mail ballots.
Allow individuals to sue if their 26th Amendment rights have been violated.

Voting is the beating heart of our democracy, and young people shouldn't be left out of our democratic process.

By passing the Youth Voting Rights Act, and by working to root out every voter suppression law that's been enacted around the country, we can defend our democracy.

But it's going to take a grassroots movement. Add your name to say you're in this fight all the way.

Thanks for being a part of this,

Elizabeth