VOTE:NO
Died In Committe on 06/26/21
Status (overview) of bill:https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Measures/Overview/SB776
Committee assigned to bill: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Committees/SRULES/Overview
This bill lowers the voting age for school district elections to 16 or 17 instead of 18. They are a protected class of citizen and cannot have their signature or birthdate verified.
Personal Choice and Responsibility
An individual may vote in all school district elections, including the nomination and election of school directors, if the individual is 16 or 17 years of age and has registered to vote 20 days prior. High school sophomores don’t have adult brain development to make good judgment no matter how smart they are.
Limited Government
Good judgment isn’t something teens can excel in. The rational part of a teen’s brain isn’t developed until early 20’s and isn’t completely developed until age 25 or so. In fact, recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long-term consequences. Teens process information with the amygdala. This is the emotional part.
How is this different than SJR 25? NO! NO! NO! The maturity of a 16 year old & 17 year old is not equivalent to an adult. They aren’t allowed to buy tobacco or alcohol even… but yet, they are old enough to vote? NO! This is just another attempt to harvest ballots from households who have teens who could probably care less about voting.