16 & 17 year olds win right to vote in Vermont town

[butters]

the numbers may not be huge, but in small towns they can be impactful as well as showing teens the value of voting if they wish to influence how things get done where they live. Encouraging civic responsibility this way seems a very positive thing to me.

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont town has acted on the notion that young voters offer hope for the future, giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote next week in local elections. Those who turn 18 by the November general election will be permitted to vote in the state's presidential primaries on Super Tuesday.

The change to the town's charter required legislative approval, and Republican Gov. Phil Scott twice rejected the measures. Last year the Democratic-controlled Legislature overrode the governor's veto, giving more Brattleboro teenagers the green light to vote and run for Brattleboro's primary governing body, and to be chosen as representatives to an annual town meeting where many local issues are decided.

To date, at least 37 teens have registered, according to the town clerk’s office. Many signed up during the voter drive at the school on Feb. 14, which senior Eva Gould also helped pull together.

“This is the future and these are the people who are going to be voting in our elections and are going to be running in our elections as well,” Gould said. “They know a lot more than a lot of people do, honestly.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...1&cvid=ee9953fe06f840a0a132d5d418d391c9&ei=44