More Essex County Teens Join NJ Movement For 16-Year-Olds To Vote – Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Why should 17-year-olds be able to drive and pay taxes, but not to vote? That’s the conceit of a new movement across New Jersey in which teens say the voting age should be lowered from 18 to 16.

A group called Vote16NJ has launched a change.org petition, and has garnered support from high school students across the state, as well as Councilman David Contract in Westfield.

Contract said recently that teens from Millburn/Short Hills and Somerville have also gotten involved. And Livingston High School juniors Lucas Zhu and Eric Brekhman, who are co-presidents of their school’s Democrats Club, are collaborating with Contract and others on an amendment to the state constitution to lower the voting age.

However, the movement is non-partisan.

Contract— part of a slate of five council people who were elected to the Westfield Town Council last year — said in a recent Patch story that the movement came out of his campaign.

He said, “I was talking to my son who was 17 at the time, about getting him excited about my campaign. And he was like, ‘Dad, I’m interested, but at the end of the day, I can’t vote for you. So why would I be that excited about it when I can’t even act on that?

He noted that teens who got involved could vote in Board of Education elections and other races that directly affect their lives.

In the local area, teens have even run for Board of Education — such as Millburn school board member Jamie Serruto, who turned 18 two weeks before his own election in 2020.

The teens in Livingston, Zhu and Brinkman, have been involved in politics for some time, and even run a political YouTube channel that has amassed thousands of views.

But some New Jersey residents have been very critical of the idea.

The petition had failed to reach 100 votes as of Friday, even after more than two weeks. And a story on the movement in Patch last month elicited more than 460 comments, many negative.

“How many 16 and 17 year olds do you think pay any attention to what is going on in their town and in their country?” argued one commenter. “I speak to adults who have no clue.”

Others said it was just a ploy to get more votes.

What do you think about giving 16-year-olds the vote? Comment below. And, got a news tip? Email Patch.