On Thursday, a group of House Democrats introduced legislation that would establish 16 as the minimum voting age in the United States. The joint resolution was spearheaded by New York Rep. Grace Meng and has twelve cosponsors which included AOC.
If passed, it would amend the 26th Amendment, which currently allows citizens 18 years and older to vote. The idea of lowering the voting age to 16 is not limited to the federal level, as a Washington, D.C., suburb is also exploring the possibility of allowing 16-year-olds to vote regardless of their citizenship status. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has also expressed support for the concept.
The Daily Caller was able to obtain a comment from Nancy Pelosi:
I myself, personally, I’m not speaking for my caucus, I myself have always been for lowering the voting age to 16,” Pelosi told the Caller in 2019. “I think it’s really important to capture kids when they’re in high school when they’re interested in all of this when they’re learning about government to be able to vote.”
In 2019, Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley introduced an amendment called the “For The People Act,” but it was struck down in a 126-305 vote. Her amendment also called for the federal voting age to be lowered from 18 to 16. Several Democrats have come out in favor of the idea.