Last updated on March 1, 2021
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley reintroduced legislation to lower the national voting age from 18 to 16 years old.
“A sixteen-year-old in 2021 possesses a wisdom and a maturity that comes from 2021 challenges, 2021 hardships, and 2021 threats,” said Pressley (D-7th).“Now is the time for us to demonstrate the courage that matches the challenges of the modern-day sixteen and seventeen-year-old. My amendment with Congresswomen [Grace] Meng and [Jan] Schakowsky would lower the voting age for federal elections from eighteen to sixteen years of age, and allow young people to have a say in our federal elections and the policies that impact their lives today and will shape the nation in their lifetime.”
Pressley pointed out that many states, including Massachusetts allows 16 and 17 year olds to pre-register to vote so they can vote on their 18th birthday.
Pressley first introduced the legislation in March 2019.
