Boca students want lower voting age

Published June 26th, 2008

By Dale M. King
CITY EDITOR

The 20th century was a battleground for voter rights.

There were fights over women’s suffrage and wrangling about whether African Americans should be allowed to cast ballots.

Forty years ago, the question of lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 became a heated issue. Older teens argued that they had no voice with politicians; therefore, no forum to express concern about issues.

In the end, the 18-year-olds got the vote.

The argument has risen again, this time, to lower the voting age to 16.  It’s not just a Boca Raton issue, though Boca is home to the newest chapter of the National Youth Rights Association. 

Jeff Nadel, a 15-year-old who will be a sophomore at St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton this fall, heads up the southeast chapter of the national organization. 

“It’s a big injustice,” said Nadel, noting that teens across America “pay $10 billion in sales taxes.  And they pay income taxes. Yet they have no political impact.” 

“We encourage any motivated youth or supportive adults to join our chapter,” Nadel said.

It’s not just a matter of lowering the voting age to 16, he said, but the larger issue of “fighting against legislation that is discriminatory to youth.”

Nadel said he became interested in youth rights when he realized “the injustice and prejudice obvious in the 18-year-old vote,” he said. 

“I am legally entitled to work and I am required to pay both state sales tax and federal income tax, but I don’t have a right to vote,” he said. “I care about this country and this state and I want to be represented.”

He noted that at age 17, with parental permission, young men and women can join the military service “and still they are unable to vote.  There are a lot of parallels to women’s suffrage and voting rights for African Americans.”

The Boca chapter started a few months ago.  It has installed all its officers and now wants to turn its attention to issues and meetings with legislators.  With school out for the summer, he said, the organization will concentrate on growth and, in the near future, bring the message to state senators and representatives.

NYRA is based in Washington, D.C., and was founded in 1998. It has nearly 8,000 members nationwide.

Nadel can be reached at Jeff@16ToVote.org.