Voting is a right. Yet, far too few realize that young people face tremendous barriers to casting a ballot. For example, in eight states—Texas, Indiana, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky—laws require younger voters to have an excuse to vote by mail, but let all voters 65 or older (or, in Tennessee, 60 or older) vote by mail without any other excuse. This is clearly unconstitutional under the 26th Amendment, which says that the "right to vote . . . shall not be denied or abridged on account of age." Letting older voters vote absentee but not younger ones violates this principle of equal treatment on account of age.
There are countless other instances of age discrimination in our elections. Examples include no polling location on college campuses and high absentee rejection rates because of signature mismatching.
At Equal Citizens, we believe that everyone — regardless of their age — should be able to have their voice heard in our democracy. Sign our petition today and tell Congress that you agree.
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