New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wants to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in school board elections statewide, according to an advance excerpt of the State of the State speech he’ll deliver Tuesday.
“I know, to some, this may sound unconventional. But voting is a lifelong habit. And studies show that, if a person votes in one election, they are more likely to turn out in the next election,” Murphy will say, according to a draft of his speech. “So, encouraging our young neighbors to engage with democracy is really about encouraging them to become lifelong voters.”
Murphy’s annual State of the State speech is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. and can be watched online.
Separately, the Newark City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on a measure to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in that city’s school elections. Officials said Newark would be the first city in New Jersey, and the largest in the U.S., to lower the voting age to 16 for an election.
Advocacy group Vote 16 New Jersey has been working for five years to achieve enfranchisement of 16- and 17-year-olds. The group would like full voting rights, but is excited that Murphy is supporting the narrower goal of allowing voting in school board elections.
“And we hope that once we see the tremendous benefits that including youth in school elections can bring, we hope to also include them in the future in local municipality elections, where they are also affected greatly by those decisions,” said Yenjay Wu, 17, a senior at Westfield High School and the executive director of the Vote 16 New Jersey.
The governor invited Wu and another group co-founder and executive director, Anjali Krishnamurti, 18, of Sommerville to attend the speech.
The youth activists said the opposition they often hear from adults is that 16- and 17-year-olds aren’t mature enough to vote.
“But we’ve seen, especially being civically engaged young people, that this is simply not the case and our generation is truly…
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