Amid waning support for mainstream politicians among young voters, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Georgia) have introduced a bill aimed at greatly expanding youth access to voting.
Young voters consistently have the lowest voter turnout among all age groups. Even in 2020, when young voters turned out in the highest numbers since the turn of the 21st century, only about 50 percent of people aged 18 to 29 voted, while 75 percent of people 65 and over voted. Among all people eligible to vote, turnout was 67 percent.
Warren and Williams want to change that. The Youth Voting Rights Act would enforce the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18, by designating colleges and universities as voter registration agencies and requiring them to have polling places on campus. It would allow 16- and 17-year olds to preregister to vote, which is already allowed in many states, and mandate that all states must accept student IDs as valid voter identification.