D#7, HW#4 - WP#2 draft

Annotated Bibliographies

OVERVIEW

Youth activism is on the rise in the United States and has been for the past several years. The current issue the youth of America are concerned with is lowering the voting age in the United States. Initial research proved difficult with limited search terms. However, as the search terms expand, so does the research being accumulated. Listed below are current articles and/or references that will be used to document the benefits/disadvantages and several perspectives on lowering the voting age in America. Several articles depict the fact that teenagers across America are lobbying to change the voting age to 16. A few articles reference that other countries already have or will be lowering their voting age to include teenagers at elections. This list will continue to grow as research indicates this topic is still at the forefront of Youth activism.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES

*** Austria Lowers Voting Age. (2007, April 17). Retrieved July 10, 2007 from http://www.youthrights.org/nyranews2007.php.

This article refers to a monumental step for Austria which may prove beneficial to the United States as the voting trend of youths will be watched closely. This article will help establish a major viewpoint (from another country’s example) for lowering the voting age in America. This article though found on a youth movement web site is still authoritative because of the letter written by the ambassador. This article will be referenced with another AB regarding other countries viewpoints. A possible quote to refer to: “We demand so much responsibility from the younger generation and load so many burdens on their shoulders that we feel it was the right thing to do,” wrote Austrian ambassador Eva Nowotny in a letter to National Youth Rights Association (NYRA).

** Bach, A. (2002, March 3). Teen Lobbies to Lower Voting Age. Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 11, 2007 from Newsbank database.

Article demonstrates that an Arizona teenager is willing to fight for the right to vote, including going to the House committee to introduce a bill for lowering the voting age in America. This article is the second reference to the Arizona teenager(s) attempting to lower the voting age in Arizona. This article is 5 years old, but the concept is still relevant to the research topic. I also noticed there was a mention of a youth group called “Generation NOW” based in Tucson, Arizona. Unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful in locating further information on this group through internet and database searches.

*** Bailey, Eric. (2004, March 9). The State; Giving New Meaning to 'Youth Vote'; A state senator says he wants to change the California Constitution to allow teens as young as 14 to cast ballots. The proposal is met with ridicule.:[HOME EDITION]. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on July 16, 2007 from ProQuest Database.

A California State Senator John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) proposed to lower the voting age to 14. However, this proposal was met with strong opposition by Senator Ross Johnson (R- Irvine) & Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, both stating in various terms that this proposal was outrageous. The article also refers to Germany & Austria having already lowered their voting age to allow teens to vote. This article will help establish three points: different perspectives for, against and those who have already lowered the voting age. This article also relates to at least one other article regarding other countries lowering the voting age. I was glad I finally found another article that had opinions that are against lowering the voting age which will help address another viewpoint.

** Boggan, S. (2006, November 6). New law lets teens serve at voting sites: Kids under legal age get civics lesson. The Tribune. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from Access My Library Database.

The author of this article is a news reporter for the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Arizona. She’s also the new Vice President for Society of Professional Journalists. She maintained an unbiased opinion throughout the article by giving facts and quotes. The reporter quoted five different people with respects to the article. The article shows two things: First, teens want to be involved and second, some adults do recognize they are mature enough to at least work at the polls on election days. A possible quote to refer to: “This is the first year people younger than the voting age of 18 have been able to work at election polling places. Legislation was passed at this year's session allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work at the polls and even get paid for it,” said Gilberto Hoyos, director of elections for Pinal County.

** Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication. (2004, September 24). Sufferin' for suffrage: should teens have the right to vote? Retrieved July 10, 2007 from Access My Library database.

This article refers to adolescents that are being provided with voting awareness in the critical years prior to college, which will hopefully increase voter turn out during elections. A possible quote to refer to: "If you can get young adults to cast a ballot in one of their first two or three elections, you increase the likelihood that they'll [vote] regularly. If you miss that first window, you'll probably lose them," said Tom Patterson, head of the Vanishing Voter Project, an organization devoted to increasing voter turnout.

** Lori Aratani, L. (2006, November 4). Teens Too Young to Vote Blaze a Campaign Trail; Ervin Applauds Students' Political Acumen: [FINAL Edition]. The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2007 from ProQuest database.

This newspaper article depicts a Montgomery County Councilwoman, Valerie Ervin, who enlisted the help of two teenagers, Adam Yalowitz and Avi Edelman, to run her campaign. “"The adults thought I was crazy," said Ervin, who recruited the pair, seniors at Montgomery Blair High School, in June.” They said, 'You cannot risk your reputation by having two 17-year-olds run your campaign.' But in reality, they knew what they were doing." Although Ervin's longtime friend Susan Phillips, 51, was the campaign's official manager, “Yalowitz and Edelman were instrumental in developing strategy and mobilizing volunteers,” Ervin said. Something worked. Ervin won the Democratic primary in September with 68.1 percent of the vote. This article will be very beneficial to the research being conducted on lowering the voting age as it proves some teens do know what they’re doing.

*** Lower the Voting Age? (2006, October 2). Junior Scholastic, Retrieved July 10, 2007, from MasterFILE Premier database.

Michael Cappetta a 16 year old junior at Chagrin Falls High School in Ohio stated “Opening up the voting pool to a younger generation may inspire our generation to vote more often, and take part in democracy.” This article displays ‘teenagers’ perspectives for and against lowering the voting age. The author is not clearly listed, though this could be due to the fact it was written for teenagers’. Also, after reviewing the article again via the database, I noticed two links I could use that would be helpful. One link would include the citation in the second link that would email the article where I wanted to send it. I chose to have it sent to my email for easier reference.

** Nardi, E. (2006, September 27). Students lobby for bill aiding poll work: LAFAYETTE: Teens say schools shouldn't lose money if they miss classes to work at voting places. Contra Costa Times. Retrieved July 16, 2007 from Access My Library Database.

This newspaper article is written by a reporter Elizabeth Nardi who is currently still staffed with Contra Costa Times. Although this article does not directly relate with the lowering of the voting age for major elections, it does show that teens are lobbying to make sure high schools are not losing money when the teens work at the polls. The article states that California charges schools $35 per student that is absent per day. The article also included that for Acalanes district last year, that figure totaled $1300. Several sources are quoted within the article.

** Stafford, Katy. (2006, November 5). Charlotte Observer. Students learning how, why to vote: About 20,000 in Mecklenburg to cast ballots in mock election. Retrieved July 9, 2007 from Access My Library database.

"The ultimate goal is to get informed about the election process. They learn the skills in a textbook and then get to experience it in real life." said Amy Farrell, executive director of the Mecklenburg program, part of Kids Voting USA, a nonprofit organization based in Tempe, Ariz. The author maintained an unbiased tone throughout the article as she reported about the program Kids Voting USA helping students learn how to vote and casting ballots in a mock election. The author quoted three different people that voiced the same sentiment. Students are learning about voting and then actually being able to do it is a benefit to all students who participate. This also encourages parents who must accompany the students when they vote.

*** Sweet, A., Tatz, P., & Puz, J. (2005, July 28). From playgrounds to voting booths: Kids want to vote. New York Amsterdam News. Vol. 96, Issue 31. Retrieved July 9, 2007 from Academic Search Premier Database.

“People talk about how the youth don't care and aren't involved, especially in the last election, and I think part of the problem is, we're just ignored. When you're 16, you have a lot of adult "rights," like paying taxes, driving, enlisting in the Army, serving adult prison terms, but you're not treated as an adult” (Sweet). “Democracy is the founding principle of America. If some of us are given a vote, and others aren't, how is that good democracy? Expanding the vote will make democracy even better and richer. How can expanding the vote be bad?” (Tatz). “…it's a double standard when we are told, "No, you're kids, you're not responsible enough to vote, but you're responsible enough to face the same penalties adults do"” (Puz). This article shows a keen perspective from several teenagers that are aware of the youth suffrage and want to be able to cast their ballot.

*** “Vote”. Merriam-Webster OnLine Dictionary. Copyright 2006-2007. Retrieved July 7, 2007 from http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/voting

Using the Merriam-Webster Dictionary online I was able to obtain the definition of voting. This is key information to understanding the main topic.

CONCLUSION

These resources have opened my eyes to the fact that teenagers of America are serious about lowering the voting age. They have taken steps to lobby Councilwomen and Senators to introduce bills in several states. Skepticism and opposition have made it abundantly clear that they believe teenagers are not ready and this shouldn’t even be a discussion. However, I have formed the opinion that combined with parents, teachers and legislation that would allow teenagers to practice what they learn early, the voter turn out rates in America would increase.