{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/150267/featured_charter-amendment-sixteen-and-seventeen-year-old-voting-for-municipal-elections-1436891473.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/150267/featured_large_charter-amendment-sixteen-and-seventeen-year-old-voting-for-municipal-elections-1436891473.jpg"},"introduced_on":"2015-03-16","title_override":"Smells Like Teen Legislation: Should 16‐ and 17‐year Olds Get to Vote in City Elections?","summary_override":"

Society doesn’t give teenagers a lot of power. Aside from driving, teens don’t have access to most of the privileges held by people over 18. This bill aims to put the power of civic engagement in their hands.

Specifically, it would propose putting an initiative on the November 2016 ballot lowering San Francisco’s voting age to 16.

Who’s behind this legislative maneuver to empower teenagers? Well, teenagers of course. In January 2015, San Francisco’s Youth Commission (an appointed seventeen member body between 12‐23 years old) adopted a resolution urging the Board of Supervisors to consider legislation that would allow 16‐ and 17‐year olds to vote in municipal elections.

The bill was introduced on March 17th, 2015 and sponsored by Supervisor John Avalos, David Campos, Jane Kim, and Eric Mar. It’s been bounced back and forth between several departments, and it now includes an additional provision. If passed, this bill would amend San Francisco’s Charter Amendment to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote for members of two of the City’s most important educational bodies: the Board of Education for the San Francisco Unified School District and the Governing Board of the Community College District.

","official_title":"Charter Amendment – Sixteen and Seventeen Year Old Voting for Municipal Elections ","short_title":null,"popular_title":null,"short_summary":null,"summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"According to the City Controller, this amendment would increase the costs of producing voter materials and conducting outreach campaigns. But the additional expenses would represent a “marginal” increase in the Department of Election’s annual costs. ","impact":"16 and 17‐year-old San Francisco residents, the Board of Education, the Governing Board of the Community College District, the Youth Commission, & legislation teenagers care about. ","argument_for":"Letting teens know that their voice matters in legislative affairs will encourage them to participate in civic affairs. Besides, teens already work and drive like adults, why shouldn’t they be allowed to vote like them too? ","argument_against":"This is a political ploy by progressive supervisors to prey on gullible young voters. The legal age of adulthood and eligibility for voting is pegged at 18 for a reason—it gives teens the time to mature and develop their own opinions. ","bill_type":"Charter Amendment","published":true,"type":"LocalBill","status":"Pending Committee Action","official_url":"https://sfgov.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2244771&GUID=B9E4818D-75C6-4DF2-84B9-F8B9F9DFC5BD&Options=ID%7CText%7C&Search=150267","bill_id":"150267","links":{"details":"/api/bills/42188-150267/details","positionsFor":"/api/bills/42188-150267/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/42188-150267/positions/against","positions":"/api/bills/42188-150267/positions/all"},"is_current_congress":true,"issue_ids":["political-groups","civil-rights","social-services","taxes","youth","government","education","voting-rights"],"progress":"","following":false,"position_count":311,"vote_count":1427,"yea_vote_count":712,"nay_vote_count":708,"id":"42188-150267","vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"legislative_body_id":4,"district_id":"san-francisco-ca"}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"political-groups","name":"Political Groups","slug":"political-groups","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Political Groups. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about.\r\n","page_title":"Political Groups Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/political-groups/black_political-groups-1429886640.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/political-groups/grey_political-groups-1429886640.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/political-groups/white_political-groups-1429886640.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"civil-rights","name":"Civil Rights","slug":"civil-rights","description":"Federal legislation related to Civil Rights protections and can encompass: abortion, age discrimination, voting rights, women’s rights, racial and ethnic relations. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. 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Make your voice heard about the issues you care about","page_title":"Social Services Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/social-services/black_social-services-1429042058.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/social-services/grey_social-services-1429042058.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/social-services/white_social-services-1429042058.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"taxes","name":"Taxes","slug":"taxes","description":"US Congressional Legislation related to all types of Taxation: Income Tax, Sales Tax, Property Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Employment Taxes, and the Administration and collection of taxes (including regulating the IRS).","page_title":"Tax Related Federal Legislation including: Income and Sales Tax, Regulating the IRS - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/taxes/black_taxes-1429042039.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/taxes/grey_taxes-1429042039.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/taxes/white_taxes-1429042039.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"youth","name":"Youth","slug":"youth","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Youth. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. \r\n","page_title":"Youth Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/youth/black_youth-1432222688.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/youth/grey_youth-1432222688.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/youth/white_youth-1432222688.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"government","name":"Government","slug":"government","description":"Federal legislation related to the operations of the US Federal Government. Bills can encompass government administration, regulation of political parties, the US postal service, US territories and public contracts.","page_title":"US Government - Federal legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/government/black_government-1453508811.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/government/grey_government-1453508811.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/government/white_government-1453508811.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"education","name":"Education","slug":"education","description":"Federal legislation can directly impact all levels of education and education funding. Here you can find bills related to Elementary, Junior and High School, Universities, continuing and adult education and pre-K. \r\n","page_title":"Federal legislation related to Education, encompassing K-12, Collegiate, Pre-K, and continuing - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/education/black_education-1429042042.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/education/grey_education-1429042042.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/education/white_education-1429042042.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"voting-rights","name":"Voting Rights","slug":"voting-rights","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Voting Rights. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. 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God gave us a pattern to follow for the Church and for how we should live. He DIDN'T say that following it is OPTIONAL! Nor did He say we could make changes to His pattern! I believe that there will be an eternal home of the soul - Heaven or Hell - and that Christ will judge us on the last day. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God!\n\nI am NOT\n• a Catholic\n• a Protestant\n• a Baptist\n• a Methodist\n• a Mormon\n• an Episcopalian\n• a Pentacostal\nor member of any other denomination.\n\n• I AM A CHRISTIAN, PERIOD!\n• I AM A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST, PERIOD! \n• I ACKNOWLEDGE NO HEAD OF THE CHURCH EXCEPT CHRIST JESUS, THE SON OF GOD, PERIOD! \n• I FOLLOW NO MANMADE CREED, BUT THE BIBLE ONLY, WHICH IS THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD, PERIOD!\n\nI'm a 4th. generation Texan & the mother of 2 sons. I'm retired. I love the mountains and I like Oberhasli dairy goats, organic gardening, science fiction, astronomy, camping, and hunting. I'm very fond of my OESheepdog and my Norwegian Forest cat, too.\n\n• I'm a Constitutional Conservative and a patriot. \n•. I support the Tea Party. \n• I'm for limited government and free market capitalism. \n• I'm also for school choice and school prayer. \n• I'm against abortion and same-sex \"marriage\". \n• I'm TOTALLY AGAINST the implementation of Shariah law at any level in the United States! \n• I'm for SECURE BORDERS and reduced immigration, especially of Muslims! \n• I believe ALL illegal aliens should be deported. Those who enter our country illegally should not be given special privileges at the taxpayers' expense! \n• I believe that Congress should balance the budget and Uncle Sam should live within his means - without raising taxes! \n• I also believe in \"peace through strength\" - keep our military strong and keep out the transgenders! Freedom of religion applies to the military as well as civilians! I'm AGAINST allowing foreigners to join our military! 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Frank

Smells Like Teen Legislation: Should 16‐ and 17‐year Olds Get to Vote in City Elections?