Discuss with people

…people who like you

Use your experience, conscience, and intuition to help you decide what’s the next right thing. Speak with people you trust who share your faith and values. Share your beliefs about who can/can’t vote and how that ought to change. It’s normal to process your thoughts continuously and adjust them to incorporate new insights.

This session on “Who wants to vote? Who can vote? Who should be able to vote? Who decides?” from Massachusetts Civic Learning Week 2022 will prepare you to have discussions about the qualifications of voters in Massachusetts. Slide deck & Recording.

You can learn lots from the Resources, Media, and Colloquium pages of The Children’s Voting Colloquium website. Beware that there are many people who haven’t received quality civics instruction, so they might speak mistruths due to ignorance; if you’re able to respond with authority and improve their understanding, then pat yourself on the back, because you’ve made a valuable contribution.

As you learn, you can be creative and teach others! Be sure to maintain integrity when sharing information, so you can earn your reputation as ‘trustworthy.’ Admit what you don’t know and have a growth mindset.

…people like you

Find opportunities to have casual conversation in your social groups.

If there’s some news source you read, submit ideas about kids voting for publication there. Maybe other people like you will read it and agree.

…people you like

Influential people (popular peers, musicians, poets, actors, athletes, writers, artists of all types, etc.) will be able to share ideas with greater impact using their special talents.

Observe a special day

June 8th: US ratification of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1992)

July 4th: US Independence Day (1776)

August 12th: International Youth Day, United Nations

September 15th: International Day of Democracy, United Nations

November 20th: World Children’s Day, United Nations

December 10th: Human Rights Day, United Nations

Contact groups that can help

The Children’s Voting Colloquium is open to people everywhere who are interested in voting rights for children.

Join the listserv to listen: email childrenvoting at gmail.com to request to join.

Post to the listserv to share: email children_voting_colloquium at email.rutgers.edu. To filter spam, your email will be moderated, then shared. Note that it will be ‘public,’ so don’t share information that you wouldn’t want to be seen widely.

The League of Women Voters invites people to share a story.

“The League is always looking for stories from voters, members, local and state Leagues, and the public for a variety of uses relating to our mission of empowering voters and defending democracy. We are eager to hear your story and consider sharing it as part of our voting rights work.”

ACTION ALERT - The Wisconsin League is leading an effort to give voting status to members of the League of any age (currently only members over age 16 are eligible to vote on League decisions). The LWVWI ‘proposed bylaws amendment’ (change to the rules of the organization’s 700+ local leagues) will be debated at the Convention of the League of Women Voters of the United States in Denver, Colorado at the end of June 2022. Learn more about this here so you can comment about it!

The American Civil Liberties Union here

“Through litigation and advocacy, the ACLU is working to protect and expand access to the ballot, and fighting back against attempts to curtail an essential right in our democracy.”

The Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston here

“Lawyers for Civil Rights provides representation, advice, and referrals primarily for residents of Massachusetts and surrounding communities who experience discrimination or harassment in employment, housing, education, or voting.”

Common Cause Massachusetts here

“The right to have our vote counted and our voice heard is fundamental to American democracy.” source

MassVOTE here

MassVOTE works to promote a culture of active political participation by providing civic organizations the tools they need to organize, register, and educate voters, with an emphasis on historically disenfranchised communities. MassVOTE builds civic coalitions to advocate for democratic reforms that make the electoral process more accountable and accessible to all people.

Massachusetts’ Community Access Television Stations, listed here

Massachusetts Scholastic Press Association here

“The Massachusetts Scholastic Press Association’s mission is to support publication and broadcast advisers in Massachusetts schools through conferences, contests, awards, scholarships, mentorship, advocacy, and other activities that the board of the organization deems worthy. MASPA is a state affiliate of the Journalism Education Association.”

Massachusetts Speech and Debate League here or here

The MSDL serves high school students (grades 9-12) in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Middle School Speech League here

The Massachusetts Middle School Speech League is an organization dedicated to developing self-confidence, communication skills, and critical thinking in middle school students (grades 6 through 8) through competitive public speaking activities. The league assists in organizing tournaments throughout the school year that accept entries from member schools.

Boston Debate League here

YMCA Youth + Government Program here

This unique program is made up of thousands of teens nationwide in state-organized, model-government programs. Participants immerse themselves in experiential civic engagement, debate issues that affect citizens in their state and even propose legislation. The program culminates with teens serving as delegates at their state conference, debating bills on the floor of the legislature.

Junior State of America - New England here

The Junior State of America was founded in 1934, and since then has grown to be an organization with over 500,000 student members. These students all have one common bond: they are interested in politics, government, foreign affairs, the law, and education. The idea for JSA was first formed by Professor E.A. Rogers, headmaster of the Montezuma School in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains. Professor Rogers believed that one of the most important parts in maintaining a democracy was training its youth in the basics of government

Discovering Justice program here

Discovering Justice envisions a society in which everyone is well-equipped with the knowledge, skills, and desire to build and sustain an equitable democracy. We bring students and communities together to examine the workings of the justice system, explore the ideals of justice, and prepare them to engage in our democracy.

iCivics here

We champion equitable, non-partisan civic education so that the practice of democracy is learned by each new generation. We work to inspire life-long civic engagement by providing high-quality and engaging civics resources to teachers and students across our nation.

Generation Citizen here

Generation Citizen believes every student has the right to learn how to effectively participate as citizens. We inspire civic participation through a proven state standards-aligned action civics class that gives students the opportunity to experience real-world democracy.

We envision a just, inclusive democracy that is responsive to all young people.

State Student Advisory Council here

The SSAC is a group of students elected by their peers from schools throughout Massachusetts who are helping make decisions about state educational policy and student rights. These students are initiating and carrying through projects to make changes in local schools.

• SSAC is composed of five Regional Councils and the State Council. According to state mandate, every secondary school must elect two delegates to a Regional SAC. Each Regional Council elects eight (Greater Boston elects twelve) members to the State SAC. The State SAC has its own projects, but also helps coordinate those of the Regional SACs. The SSAC serves as a communication network to share educational information among all students.

• The student Chairperson of the State SAC serves as a full voting member of the Massachusetts Board of Education.

• The chairperson represents the needs and the ideas of all students in Massachusetts and is a communication link from the Board to the SSAC. To facilitate education, students must be thought of as participants in, not merely recipients of, the educational process.

Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition here

Our mission is to advance civic education and engagement in Massachusetts by convening a broad range of stakeholders committed to building support for innovative legislation, funding, and policies that facilitate high quality and equitable learning opportunities for students, teachers, and the wider public.

Just Vote - Edward M Kennedy Institute here

The Leadership Conference for Civil Rights here

Future Farmers of America - Massachusetts here

Educating for American Democracy here

Massachusetts Municipal Association here

The MMA’s mission is to improve the effectiveness of local government in the Commonwealth. The MMA is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of cities and towns.

The organization’s goals include public policy advocacy, membership education, intergovernmental relations, services to cities and towns, public awareness, and unity.

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee here

The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee advances human rights through grassroots collaborations.

A Family Resource Center https://www.frcma.org/about

Can you imagine a place in your neighborhood where people of all ages, incomes, and abilities are welcome to develop helpful and caring connections with each other? A place where skilled and thoughtful professionals help parents, children, and families find emotional support and practical assistance to succeed in life? A place that offers sensible solutions to families seeking health, safety, educational, and employment services? That place is part of the Massachusetts Family Resource Centers (FRCs) network and is already in your own neighborhood.   

Here are some of the ways FRCs help families:

• Bring people together for friendship and mutual support

• Strengthen parenting skills

• Respond to family crises

• Link families to services and opportunities

• Help children develop social and emotional skills

• Observe and respond to early warning signs of child abuse and neglect

• Value and support parents

Supported by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Department of Children and Families, a Family Resource Center is located in each of the 14 Massachusetts counties.

Get the idea out - make it attractive to other people

Begin where it might be well-received. Build support gradually among people who are likely to care the most.

Be a great spokesperson for kids voting: Look your best! Be confident! Make a strong first impression! Do it with friends and family!

Idea: advertise in under-18s’ theatre production booklets. When they say no the first time, give them a chance to reconsider and try again next time.

Idea: be visible about your support of kids voting by wearing a button or holding a sign while also attending a sporting event or other large social gathering wearing clothing that shows that you belong to that bigger social group, too.

Write to your elected officials

In Massachusetts, here’s where you can enter your address to find the lawmakers who represent the people where you live.

Ask for them to support H.810 or HJRes23 or S.483 or S.448. Or share your ideas about what change is needed.

Don’t be discouraged if they’re reluctant to change who can vote - this is perfectly normal. It’s still worthwhile to let them know it matters to you. Your goal should be to share knowledge and be their informant, especially as the numbers of people who care about this gets bigger. Nurture the relationship: don’t expect immediate action.

Meet with your elected officials

Perhaps follow the steps on this lobby visit roadmap from the Friends Committee on National Legislation.