Episode 316: Talking 16-Year-Olds and Voting

Talk Policy To Me

In discussions around expanding voter turnout, many different policy interventions come up—same day voter registration, automatic voter registration, making Election day a holiday. But what if the best way to change the likelihood of people voting actually came in changing their first voting experience?

There’s a body of evidence that shows that voting for the first time at 16, rather than 18, increases the chances of people becoming life-long voters. In this second episode in our series on strengthening our democracy, we look at how this change can play a role to improve outcomes for all.

In this episode, host Sarah Edwards (MPP ’20) explores efforts to expand the right to vote to 16 and 17 year olds. She speaks with Brandon Klugman, Campaign Manger of Vote16 USA and Arianna Nassiri, a high school student in San Francisco leading the push to lower the voting age for SF local and school board elections.

Curious to learn more? We suggest the following:

1. Read this article on the outcomes related to lowering the voting age
2. Explore Ayanna Pressley’s efforts for federal legislation
3. Stay up-to-date on San Francisco’s upcoming campaign

See show notes and full transcript here: https://gspp.berkeley.edu/research-and-impact/news/podcast/episode-316-talking-16-year-olds-and-voting