New Jersey’s Biggest City Grants Voting Rights To Minors | Eastern North Carolina Now

Minors in New Jersey’s biggest city now have the right to vote in certain elections.

ENCNow
    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Corinne Murdock.

    Minors in New Jersey's biggest city now have the right to vote in certain elections.

    The Newark City Council voted on Wednesday to grant voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds for school board elections. The measure, sponsored by Council President LaMonica McIver, passed unanimously; she declared that minors had the right to representation.

    "We support expanding our democracy and giving our young people the right to vote," said McIver.

    The measure declared that 16- and 17-year-olds deserve the right to vote because they may take on certain responsibilities like driving, paying taxes, and working, and civic activities such as political campaign contributions, volunteering in campaigns and at the polls, and attending political rallies.

    Following prolonged and divided public remarks over the measure, Councilman Lawrence Crump remarked that minors today were capable of voting because they're "much more mature, much more advanced" than he and his peers were in their youth.

    "I don't think we should punish children for what we as adults have failed to do, and I think if we don't support [their right to vote] that's what we're doing, we're punishing them from moving forward because of what we as adults and parents have not done," said Crump.

    Councilman Dupre Kelly said that granting certain voting rights to minors was critical to ensure a healthy democracy, and indicated that granting voting rights in school board elections was just the start.

    "If you don't utilize young people to help you build it, they will be the ones to tear it down," said Kelly.

    Councilwoman Louise Scott-Rountree said that it was Biblical to afford voting rights to minors.

    "I think we downplay their wisdom because we think we elders know it all," said Scott-Rountree.

    Only one councilman, Carlos Gonzalez, expressed hesitation for the measure, warning that the next likely step would be policy allowing minors to run for election. Gonzalez also questioned whether the age limit was arbitrary, and if future arguments could be made for lowering the voting age even further.

    "I don't think they have the financial wisdom to handle that responsibility [of a billion-dollar budget]," said Gonzalez. "Where do we stop? I believe that we have to be concerned with the slippery slope of going from 18 to 16 to what?"

    Councilman Patrick Council said that struggles with systemic racism and social justices had culminated in the measure. Council said that allowing minors to vote would help mitigate societal issues like gun violence.

    Another major issue, the border crisis, was also brought up. Councilman Michael Silva expressed concern that illegal immigrant minors wouldn't benefit from this new measure.

    "My ward is going to be a reflection of a lot of wards the way the country is looking forward, and I think these 16 and 17-year-olds, even though they're not American citizens, need to have their voices heard as well," said Silva.

    That same day, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy applauded the measure in his State of the State address. Murphy asked that the state legislature pass similar legislation this session to grant minors voting rights for all local school board elections.

    "I know, to some, this proposal may sound unconventional. But voting is a lifelong habit. And studies show that, if a person votes in one election they are more likely to turn out in the next election," said Murphy. "So, encouraging our young neighbors to engage with democracy, is really about encouraging them to become lifelong voters."

    Last week, Murphy signed a bill allowing 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they turned 18 by the time of the general election.

    Murphy credited the push for minor voting rights to two young activists: Anjali Krishnamurti, a freshman at Harvard University and former campaign volunteer for Murphy, and Yenjay Hu, a high school senior.

    "Honestly, when I see young leaders like Anjali and Yenjay, I cannot help but think: is it any surprise that New Jersey has the best public education system in the country?" said Murphy.

    Krishnamurti and Hu co-founded Vote16NJ, a state spinoff of a national campaign, Vote16USA, both of which advocate for lowering the national voting age to 16 in local elections.

    Vote16USA is a project of Generation Citizen, a progressive New York-based nonprofit. Among its top funders are the Ford Foundation, Bezos Family Foundation, the Jennifer and Jonathan Allan Soros Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

poll#201
Considering what real news is available for all to witness, and in great specificity, should one pursue what is true outside of the channeled realm of the corrupt corporate /legacy media, and: Is Institutionalized Corruption real, and is it a hindrance to sustaining our Constitutional Republic now, and for future generations of American citizens?
  Yes
  No
  Not sure
454 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?


poll#169
Considering how abjectly corrupt and civilly abusive the Left has become regarding the corrosive effect of their elected leaders; their entrenched and ruling bureaucracy; employing their failed Education Industry as Indoctrinators; their collusive private sector operators, such as the terminally discredited Legacy Media and Big Tech censorship of Free Speech: What will be the best course forward for hardworking Middle Americans, including the Patriot Class?
  Withdraw from society, go underground and plan for a resurgence when it is feasible to do so.
  Work within the confines of better policy by the People's government, once good sense and sanity is restored in the electorate at large, to achieve such.
  Are you a crazy, nut-job Insurrectionist? Everything is perfect within our plan to achieve our intended goals for the Socialist Left.
  Secession to form a true Constitutional Republic.
438 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?


poll#170
Considering what has happened to our Representative Republic since the corruptive orthodoxy that led to the tolerated abomination - The Russia Hoax - where felonies were perpetrated upon the American People by the creation of the Two Tiered Justice System, in the misnomer of "Social Justice:" Where do you stand on sustaining our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms in a society where injustice is chronically sanctioned by one political orthodoxy?
  I believe in a perfected society by employing a higher governmental authority to train the behavior of the public.
  The United States Constitution does not allow just a few freedoms, it guarantees ALL freedoms promised to Humankind by God.
  Just don't take away my Social Media.
421 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?


poll#178
Considering the current overwhelming obstacles inflicting stress upon America's working class: rampant inflation; energy insecurity; supply chain turmoil; banking failures; foreign policy disasters; government corruption; (DEI) Diversity Equity Inclusion narrative, with WOKE extremes practiced; Climate Change ideology; intractable crime wave in Leftist cities; wide open border by executive design; a permanently discredited Legacy Media; failed or failing education industry, just to name a few of the many: Who should Americans blame?
  Donald J. Trump
  Joseph R. Biden
  Leftist controlled Congress for the last 4 years.
  Bloated, incompetent bureaucracy weaponized and poorly managed
  The electorate, US, for putting these fools in elected office that utterly fail
280 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?

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