by Children's PressLine journalists, Samantha Akwei, 16; Anastasia Brown, 15; Elizabeth Negron, 13; Jah'sway Robinson, 11; and Shauna Staranko, 17

Councilmember Brewer on Lowering the Voting Age

CPL: Why should the voting age be lowered?

Brewer: We always hear reports about 18- to 20-year-olds not voting, and I think one of the reasons is that people haven't started early enough. Now that the city has oversight and control over the Department of Education, I think it is very important that students have some input over after-school curriculum. If we're to have a real democracy, it's extremely important that there will be more city participation.

CPL: You have adopted children. How do you think lowering the voting age would affect them?

Brewer: Right now, this is an adults-only discussion, and I think that elected officials have to answer to votes from young people. I think children in foster care, particularly children who are adopted, might have a different say as to how these systems operate. There are very few opportunities for housing for young people aging out of foster care, and I think that if there were [young] votes, the caseworker population would vote; then there might be more money allocated for housing. There will be much more discussion.

CPL: What issues might the government face if it lowers the voting age?

Brewer: I think young people would like to have more arts, athletics, school newspapers, you know, things that complement their academic work. Birth control, family planning—many of these old issues are looked at from an adult lens, but there are many topics that would change, not dramatically, but enough that young people would have influence.

CPL: Why is now a good time to change the voting age?

Brewer: The next municipal election will be in four years. So we have four years to convince people that 16 and 17 are old enough to vote. It's a time that the Federal Government is providing funding as also mandates for new machines and new processes in terms of voting, so between the two, I think it's a good time to be looking at the 16- and 17-year-olds.

CPL: How do you feel about parents who tell their kids, 'I don't think you're mature enough to vote'?

Brewer: I would hope parents wouldn't do that because we've been so conditioned that it's not cool to vote. You as a parent shouldn't be doing that. You could tell your son or daughter who to vote for, or you could tell them that they could vote for whomever they wish, but don't tell them not to vote.

CPL: Why are you so passionate about this issue?

Brewer: I have a lot of respect for the work done by Future Voters of America for how they presented questions to me as a candidate. I believe in what they believe in, which is that young people are a force, young people are articulate, and young people need skills like public speaking to be even more effective, and here is one more way for young people to get their word out. It would be a great message to the rest of the country and the world.