New Jersey is pushing to move their state voting age to 16 years old.

Question

New Jersey’s largest city will allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections. Would expanding voting rights empower young people and improve our political system?

Answer 1

This claim is true, the Newark city council passed an ordinance lowering the voting in school board elections. Newark is following in the footsteps of smaller counties on the east coast that grant this right to vote to younger teenagers. However, the measure is still yet to be implemented and will not be this year. These measures encourage young people to vote on matters that directly impact them and get them involved in the democratic system. I found a few articles talking about the passing of this measure and they all read the same way telling me that this headline is true.

SOURCES:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-jersey-city-council-lowers-school-board-voting-age-allow-16-17-year-old-students-participate

https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/newark-bid-to-lower-voting-age-wont-take-effect-this-year/

Comments

Dear Samc123,
I like that you had sources to support your argument, but why did you use Fox News? I do not think Fox news is that good of a source. This is because it is very conservative and tends to skew facts. Maybe you could look for a more neutral source.

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Good job! I like that you included information that they are not the only county that has done this. It is important that you highlighted that this law will not be in effect this year and that those effected by this law will only be voting on matters that are close to them. Good job finding two different sources from the one that the fact check was reported on.

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Great work! I like how clear you were and how you made sure to state that this is something that would not be implemented this year. I also like how you described the reasoning behind why they want to change the voting age to 16, and provided more than one source.

Answer 2

This claim is true. According to NJ Spotlight News, the Newark City Council voted in January (unanimously) to approve 16 and 17 year olds to vote in school board elections, allowing 7,000 new voters (90% being Black and brown voters). Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said, “This a good opportunity for young people to begin to get engaged politically, to be a real voting bloc in an election that affects them directly.” In the 2023 school board elections, Newark had a 3% voter turnout (6,067 ballots casted of 194,817 registered voters). If administered, it would make Newark "the largest community in the United States to expand voting rights to younger residents since 1971, when the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18 nationwide."

Comments

Good job! I like that you included information that they are not the only county that has done this. It is important that you highlighted that this law will not be in effect this year and that those effected by this law will only be voting on matters that are close to them. Good job finding two different sources from the one that the fact check was reported on.

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Morgan-
I think you did a sufficient analysis, especially by adding numbers that illustrate your claim. Attributing a quote to a relevant source helps add detail and further evidence. Last, the information you add reveals the implication and importance of this claim. I think it would have been interesting to add a reaction for additional context as well!