Government

The Case for Letting Teens Vote in Local Elections

Youth activists hope to make San Francisco the first major U.S. city where 16- and 17-year-olds can cast a ballot.
Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.com

Oliver York has heard it all—and the 16-year-old political activist is always ready with a well-researched answer.

He has heard critics refer to him and his cohorts as pawns of liberal San Francisco supervisors looking for a few extra votes. He’s heard that if given suffrage, teens would just mimic their parents’ voting patterns. That reminds him of the historical argument against women’s suffrage.