Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Nikema Williams have introduced the Youth Voting Rights Act, comprehensive legislation to greatly expand voting rights for young people. 

The Youth Voting Rights Act would make our elections more accessible to youth by:

• Allowing youth nationwide to pre-register to vote before they turn 18
• Expanding access to voter registration services at all public higher education institutions
• Requiring higher education institutions to have polling places on campus
• Ensuring student IDs count as a means of voter identification
• Prohibiting any attempts to disenfranchise young voters via durational residency requirements
• Making the 26th Amendment, which established the right to vote for eligible 18 year olds, more enforceable in voting rights lawsuits

Despite being the largest eligible voting bloc in the country, young people don’t vote at the same rates as older adults. To truly represent the will of the people, we must make it easier to vote so we can maximize participation in our elections. 

Since the 26th Amendment lowered the federal voting age to 18 in 1971, many states have made it even harder for younger voters to cast a ballot in subsequent years. Just last year alone, 440 bills to restrict access to voting were introduced in state legislatures across the nation — many specifically designed to make it harder for young people to vote. 

Every eligible voter should have access to the ballot box, but right now young people face too many unnecessary barriers that hinder our participation in democracy. This legislation will safeguard our rights, fight back against voter suppression, and boost turnout in our elections. 

Write to your members of Congress and urge them to pass the Youth Voting Rights Act.