Proposition 18: Vote YES

This measure would allow 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primaries and special elections. The argument for this measure is that it would engage youth in greater likelihood of voting in general elections. Voting is essential, and we support the sentiments embodied in former President Barack Obama’s eulogy for Rep. John Lewis, champion of the Voting Rights Act: “…we (must) remember what John [Lewis] said: ‘If you don’t do everything you can to change things, then they will remain the same. You only pass this way once. You have to give it all you have.’ As long as young people are protesting in the streets, hoping real change takes hold, I’m hopeful; but we cannot casually abandon them at the ballot box…We cannot treat voting as an errand to run if we have some time. We have to treat it as the most important action we can take on behalf of democracy.”