The movement to modernize our voting age is gaining traction in America as it is in democracies around the globe. Two cities in Maryland already have 16-year-old voters, and Berkeley, CA just voted to do the same. Now California is preparing to welcome 17-year-old voters in all elections across the state. Everywhere people are finding ways to make our democracy more inclusive and more representative, boosting voter turnout rates and encouraging young people to embrace active and responsible citizenship.
This, according to the right-wing press, is a sinister conspiracy orchestrated by George Soros and the vile Democrats he controls.
Last week the Washington Times (a right-wing outlet, not to be confused with the Washington Post) reported that George Soros is secretly funding efforts to modernize the voting age so Democrats will win more elections, and other right-wing outlets are now following their lead.
Chip McLean rants:
Obviously Soros and the Democrats are pushing for this to increase their share of the electorate, as the Dems have been losing on just about every front you can think of in terms of governorships, state and county legislatures, not to mention the U.S. presidency and both houses of congress.
The Democrats – who I like to refer to as the “Gimmedat” party – appeal mainly to those who engage in identity politics, the ignorant and those who take much, but contribute nothing to society….
Soros might as well push for lowering the voting age to three. He could then find plenty of “voters” willing to vote for the “Gimmedats”. The only problem would be arranging transportation as they won’t have driver licenses.
Of course, many Democrat voters don’t have those now…they’ll just need to double up on the number of buses and “community organizers”.
This is a strange admission by a Republican that his party would not win elections if every American were allowed to vote.
Ironically, these outlets also claim that modernizing the voting age would have no effect at all because teenagers, as we all know, are apathetic and wouldn’t vote anyway. (Note: when someone urgently insists, “We must stop this terrible idea at once! Otherwise, if it goes through, it won’t make any real difference!” your skepticism may be justified.)
In communities where #Vote16 has been implemented, the results have been great for democracy. Voters younger than 18 enjoy a surprisingly high turnout rate, and they continue the habit of voting as they get older.
Democracy, of course, seems to be what these right-wing extremists fear most. A government that truly represents the people, that addresses the needs of all Americans, would look different from the one we have now, and yes, it would have fewer conservatives. To maintain their power, these right-wingers rely on voter-suppression tactics and especially on tactics that target voters who, as Mr. McLean suggests, are so unworthy of representation that they don’t even “have driver licenses.”
Including more voters, making our leaders responsive to more citizens, is not a secret conspiracy. It is the dream of everyone who believes in democracy. And far from being a secret, that dream is America’s proudest boast. For more than 200 years, Americans have cherished democracy, and every generation has worked to bring America closer to the democratic ideal, finding ways to include more voters than before.
Voter-suppression is as un-American as it is undemocratic.
Every American should applaud those activists and those elected leaders who are taking America another step toward fuller democracy. And if George Soros is actually helping this in any way, let’s applaud him, too.