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From YouTube: Committee on Government Operations on March 15, 2022
Description
Docket #0185 - Petition for a Special Law re: An Act Granting the City of Boston the Authority to Provide Legal Voting Rights in Municipal Elections for City of Boston Residents Aged 16 and 17 Years Old
B
Good
morning,
everyone,
I
am
city,
councilor,
ricardo,
royale,
chair
of
the
committee
on
government
operations.
It
is
tuesday
march
15
2022,
and
we
are
here
today
for
a
virtual
hearing
on
docket
number
0185
petitioned
for
a
special
law
regarding
an
act
granting
the
city
of
boston,
the
authority
to
provide
legal
voting
rights
in
municipal
elections
for
city
of
boston
residents
aged
16
and
17
years
old
referred
to
the
committee
on
january
26
2022.
B
This
docket
was
sponsored
by
the
councillors,
julia
mejia
and
kenzie
bach,
in
accordance
with
chapter
22
of
the
acts
of
2022,
modifying
certain
requirements,
field,
meeting
law
and
relieving
public
duties
of
probably
public
bodies
of
certain
requirements,
including
the
requirements
that
public
bodies
conduct
its
meetings
in
public
place
that
is
open
and
physically
accessible
to
the
public.
The
city
council
will
be
conducting
this
hearing
virtually
via
zoom
and
is
being
recorded.
B
This
enables
the
city
council
to
carry
out
its
responsibilities
while
adhering
to
the
public
health,
accommodations
and
ensuring
public
access
to
its
deliberations
through
adequate
alternative
means.
The
public
may
watch
this
hearing
via
live
stream
at
www.boston.gov
city
council
tv
and
on
xfinity8
rcn
82,
verizon
964.
It
would
also
be
it
will
also
be
rebroadcasted
at
a
later
date.
Written
comments
may
be
sent
to
the
committee
email
at
ccc
dot
go
at
boston.gov
and
will
be
made
a
part
of
our
record
and
available
to
all
counselors
public
testing.
B
Testimony
will
be
taken
at
the
end
of
this
hearing.
We
are
joined
today
by
my
council
colleagues,
councillor
meghia
councillor
bach
councillor
braden,
councillor
fernandez,
anderson
and
councillor
lara,
we're
also
joined
by
members
of
the
administration.
Commissioner,
anita
cavarez,
an
assistant
register
registrar,
sabine
sabino
from
pimante
from
the
elections
department.
We
have
a
number
of
advocates
who
will
be
testifying
as
panelists
today,
including
willie
sullivan
from
the
electoral
reform
society
executive,
director,
sheryl,
crawford
and
director
vanessa
snow
from
mass
vote,
brandon
klugman
from
generation,
citizen
and
naysad
ware.
B
A
youth
advocate
this
home
rule
petition
would
authorize
the
city
of
boston
to
allow
any
individual
age
16
or
17,
who
was
a
resident
of
boston
to
be
able
to
vote
as
long
as
they
are
eligible
under
state
law.
For
all
other
qualifications
other
than
age,
these
individuals
would
be
added
to
a
list
of
voters
established
and
maintained
by
the
board
of
election
commissioners
and
would
be
allowed
to
vote
for
local
offices
and
ballot
questions.
This
would
be
done
by
having
them
fill
out
an
alternative
registration
form.
B
The
board
of
elections
would
be
responsible
for
associated
costs.
The
petition
would
also
grant
the
board
the
authority
to
implement
regulations
associated
with
this
act.
When
the
individual
turns
18,
they
will
be
removed
from
the
separate
list
and
inform
that
they
must
register
to
vote
in
accordance
with
state
law.
I'm
going
to
now
turn
it
over
to
my
council
colleagues,
starting
with
the
two
original
sponsors
councilmember
and
council
debac,
followed
by
the
rest
of
my
council.
Colleagues,
by
order
of
arrival
councillor
mejia
the
floor
is
yours,.
C
C
So
if
we
can
promote
her
and
then
I
also
see
that
cheryl
and
vanessa
and
brandon
are
also
here
so
just
wanted
to
give
you
all
the
fyi
and
that
and
naysage
will
have
to
go
first
since
obviously
she's
a
youth
and
in
school-
and
she
got
permission
to
be
here,
so
I
just
want
to
make
sure
that
we
can
lead
with
her
if
possible,
and
so
just
I'll
I'll.
Be
really
brief.
C
With
my
remarks,
you
know
for
me
as
someone
who
worked
with
young
people
in
the
early
stages
of
my
career
and
someone
who
worked
at
mtv,
trying
to
get
young
people
registered
to
vote.
What
I
heard
in
every
space
that
I
have
been
in
is
that
young
people
don't
really
see
themselves
reflected
in
the
decisions
that
elected
officials
are
making
and
what
better
way
for
us
to
change
that
than
by
creating
an
opportunity
for
young
people
to
actually
be
able
to
have
a
say
on
who
it
is
that
is
going
to
represent
them.
C
You
know,
young
people
are
able
to
work
and
pay
taxes.
Young
people
are
sitting
in
classrooms
and
participating
in
a
number
of
different
ways
in
our
democracy,
but
when
it
comes
to
voting,
that
is
the
one
opportunity
that
I
believe
we
have
to
really
ensure
that
youth
voice
is
represented
and
that
they
have
a
seat
at
the
table.
You
know,
even
in
our
school
committee,
we
have
a
young
person
who
sits
on
that
school
committee,
but
they
don't
even
have
a
voting
right.
C
So
we
have
an
opportunity,
through
this
home
rule,
petition
to
really
change
the
way
we
do
business
and
I
believe
that
by
supporting
a
lowering
the
voting
age,
we've
already
seen
some
local
cities
and
towns,
and
even
our
congresswoman
ayana
presley,
is
all
in
on
this.
So
I'm
really
looking
forward
to
this
conversation
and
getting
this
home
rule
petition
passed
that
will
allow
16
to
17
year
olds
residing
in
the
city
of
boston
to
be
eligible
to
vote
so
without
further
ado,
I'm
going
to
end
there.
C
D
Thank
you
so
much
mr
chair,
and
thank
you
to
councillor
mejia
for
partnering
on
this
and
all
her
work
on
youth
and
civic
engagement.
This
is
really
important
to
me.
I
was
a
civics
teacher
in
boston,
public
schools.
Once
a
week,
all
while
I
was
in
college
and
and
just
saw
there,
how
engaged
our
young
people
are
and
are
capable
of
being,
and
I
think
that
often
you
know
we
find
ourselves
in
the
weird
situation
where,
on
the
one
hand
we
have,
we
are
constantly
saying:
oh,
we
think
young
people
should
get
involved.
D
They
should
be
engaged,
don't
be
apathetic,
and
then
we
set
up
voting
in
a
way
that
you
know
hits
exactly
at
the
moment
of
transition
in
a
young
person's
life,
whether
they're
going
into
work
or
further
school,
etc.
Moving
out
of
their
location,
I
mean
you,
we
really
could
hardly
put
eligibility
for
voting
at
a
time,
more
disruptive
or
harder
for
people
to
get
registered
than
we
do.
And
so
I
I
really
feel
as
though
it's
important
for
us
to
think
about.
D
How
could
we
actually
give
this
opportunity
to
not
just
have
a
voice
and
advocate,
as
many
of
our
young
people
do,
and
we
see
them
on
the
city
council
all
the
time,
but
to
actually
get
that
vote?
Why
don't
we
make
that
a
thing
that
our
youth
can
do
when
they're
embedded
in
their
communities
when
they're
in
their
high
schools
when
they
can
talk
about
it
in
the
hallways?
D
I
had
the
opportunity
to
be
living
in
the
uk
for
a
little
while
at
the
point
at
which
the
scottish
referendum
for
scottish
independence
happened
and
they
gave
the
vote
to
16
and
17
year
olds
and
they
saw
enormous
participation
by
that
demographic
and
they
were
going
to
hear
a
little
bit
later
on
from
a
panelist
about
that.
But
the
you
know,
I
think
the
interesting
thing
there
was
that
part
of
the
rationale
for
part
of
the
conversation
was
well.
D
These
are
people
who
gather
16
17,
but
they
could
live
their
whole
life
in
a
scotland.
That's
been
transformed
by
the
decision
that
we're
making
today,
and
so
you
know
it
makes
sense
to
give
them
the
chance
to
make
their
voices
heard
because
it's
really
going
to
affect
their
lives,
and
I
just
think
that
when
we
really
think
about
that,
that's
so
true
about
the
important
democratic
decisions
that
we're
making
every
year
and
our
young
people
they.
D
They
deserve
a
voice
in
those,
and
I
think
you
know
you
don't
have
to
spend
a
lot
of
time
working
with
young
people
to
see
that
they're
more
than
ready
to
weigh
in
and
that
often
you
know
they've
thought
about
these
issues
just
as
deeply
or
more
so
than
some
of
you,
some
of
the
older
adults
in
in
their
lives.
So
I'm
really
glad
that
this
can
get
a
hearing
today
and
grateful
to
all
the
panelists
who
will
be
hearing
from
as
well
thanks.
Mr
chair.
B
E
Thank
you,
mr
chairman.
I
think
this
is
a.
I
want
to
thank
the
lead
sponsors
country,
councillor,
mahee
and
councillor
bach,
for
bringing
this
issue
forward.
I
think
it's
really
important
to
try
and
increase
the
the
participation
by
all
of
our
citizens
in
our
democratic
process,
but
I
think
particularly
our
younger
folks.
As
councillor
just
mentioned,
many
of
them
are
very
well
informed.
They
have.
E
They
have
concerns
about
the
environment
and
and
schools
and
the
all
of
the
issues
that
touch
their
lives
every
day,
but
they
don't
have
any
say
in
what's
what
the
decisions
are
made.
So
I
really
feel
this
is
important.
The
other
thing
I
feel
strongly
about
is
the
importance
of
civics
education
in
schools.
So
I'm
sure
maybe
we'll
talk
about
that
later
in
the
conversation,
but
I
look
forward
to
the
conversation
this
morning.
Thank
you.
So.
F
Good
morning,
everyone
thank
you
chairman
and
thank
you
for
the
co-sponsors
who
brought
this
forward.
I
think
this
is
a
super
important
issue.
Right
16
year
olds,
17
year
olds,
they
are
civically,
engaged
and
should
have
a
voice.
I
think
they
know
just
as
much
about
what's
happening
in
their
local
government
or
should
know
and
perfectly
capable
of
making
those
decisions.
F
G
G
There
is
a
proverb
that
says
that
nothing
nothing
about
us
without
us
is
for
us,
and
I
think
that
that
is
perfectly
perfectly
fitting
to
start
this
morning
I
got
my
start
in
the
youth
justice
movement.
I
went
to
my
first
protest
when
I
was
13
and
started
working
on
my
first
campaign
by
the
time
that
I
was
15.
G
by
the
time
that
I
was
16
17
going
to
city
council
meetings
and
testifying
was
normal
for
me,
organizing
in
my
neighborhood
was
what
we
did
and
every
time
that
there
was
an
issue
myself
and
my
friends
were
either
getting
together
to
figure
out.
You
know
if
we
power
map
this.
What
is
our
strategy
to
get
this
issue
solved
and
if
we
can't
get
it
solved,
then
what
are
we
going
to
do
to
solve
it
ourselves?
G
I
am
a
co-founder
of
one
of
the
first
bi-youth
four
youth
organizations
here
in
the
city
of
boston,
at
least
out
of
my
generation
in
the
90s,
because
my
friends
and
I
believed
in
youth
power.
We
knew
that
we
were
the
ones
that
were
most
directly
impacted
by
the
decisions
that
were
being
made
and
therefore
we
should
be
the
ones
to
be
giving
solutions
to
the
issues
in
our
neighborhoods
and
with
our
friends
and
family.
G
So
I
think
that
this
is
another
step
to
get
us
closer
to
really
realizing
that
vision
of
giving
young
people
voice
over
the
decisions
that
impact
their
lives.
I'm
incredibly
supportive
of
this,
and
I'm
looking
forward
to
hear
from
all
of
the
panelists
and
working
on
this
with
councillor
mejia
and
councillor
bach.
Thank
you.
Thank.
A
A
It's
also
just
a
really
good
strategic
move
to
to
get
folks
involved
at
the
age
of
16
and
17,
while
they're
learning
about
the
civil
rights
movement,
while
they're
learning
about
all
these
folks
who
have
been
shut
out,
women
black
folks
from
accessing
the
accessing
the
franchise
at
paralleling
them
learning
about
that
they
too,
then
you
know,
lead
the
high
school
classroom
at
2,
45
or
whatever
in
the
afternoon,
and
then
go
vote
and
exercise
there
right.
So
I
am
fully
supportive
of
this.
A
It's
also
a
really
great
time
for
habit
formation
to
end
that
we've
seen
that
in
other
cities
that
have
allowed
people
to
vote,
you
get
people
interested
when
they're,
young
and
still
at
home.
It
creates
a
habit
of
voting
and
in
an
era
where
so
many
states,
and
so
many
other
places,
are
restricting
the
right
to
vote
and
acts
as
a
ballot.
It's
time
for
us
to
lead
and
lean
in
and
be
the
ones
that
are
showing.
No.
A
H
B
I
Good
morning,
mr
chair,
obviously
just
looking
forward
to
the
hearing
in
the
discussion,
and
hopefully
it'll-
be
an
impetus
to
have
civics
return
to
the
boston
public
schools.
If
we're
going
to
ask
folks
to
engage
civically
and
politically
then
nothing
more
appropriate
than
having
boston
public
schools,
not
only
have
a
focus
on
civics,
but
also
start
to
maybe
teach
to
the
boston
economy
would
also
be
helpful,
but
look
forward
to
the
testimony.
Thank
you,
mr
chair.
J
Thank
you,
mr
chair,
and
thank
you
to
the
sponsors,
counselor
bach
and
councillor
mejia
and
anytime,
we're
having
a
conversation
about
engaging
more
people
into
the
voter
voter
population,
I'm
all
for
it.
So
I'm
very
interested
in
the
conversation
and
wanted
to
see
how
we
can
get
more
people
to
be
more
civically
engaged
and
have
more
voices
at
the
table.
So
thank
you
again
to
council
block
and
council
media
for
for
for
this
hearing
and
looking
forward
to
the
conversation.
B
Thank
you,
council,
ralph,
and
now
we
have
two
panels.
We
have
the
administration
we're
going
to
talk
about
sort
of
the
parts
of
this
that
work
for
the
administration
and
how
we
get
this
done,
and
then
we
have
the
advocates
panel
nasaj,
I
believe
I
was
told
you
are
at
school-
is
that
is
that
actually.
C
What
could
could
I
actually
counsel
antonio?
Could
I
just
advocate
because
she's
in
a
class
period
and
if
we
wait
for
the
administration
to
go
and
ask
all
of
those
questions
by
the
time
we
get
to
the
massage.
So
I
would
like
to
advocate
that
we
lead
with
youth
voice
if
possible
and
give
nasa
an
opportunity
to
share
her
remarks
so
that
we
can
ask
her
our
questions
before
she
needs
to.
You
know.
B
C
B
B
K
Great,
thank
you,
hello.
Everyone,
I'm
nate
dodge
ware
senior
at
the
john
deere
bryant
school
of
mathematics
for
science.
Personally,
I
feel
as
though
the
most
common
argument
made
against
lowering
the
voting
age
is
that
youth
are
uneducated
and
disinterested
in
politics.
I
started
as
the
youth
liaison
for
boston
city
councilor
at
large
student
media
and
as
the
youth
deputy
campaign
manager
for
former
everett
city
council
at
large
curly
adrian
and
through
canvassing.
I
have
realized
that
adults
are
just
as
uneducated
and
disinterested
as
public
officials
assume
that
youth
are
in
politics
also.
K
The
argument
that
young
people
are
uneducated
is
essentially
naive
and
oblivious
to
the
reality
of
our
society,
because
what
exactly
defines
an
adult,
especially
in
the
social
climate
that
we
live
in
now,
barring
16
and
17
year
olds,
from
effectively
participating
in
their
democrat
democratic
government
is
essentially
adulterous
and
upholds
ageism
and
politics.
I
strongly
believe
that
most
people
do
not
fear
16
and
17
year
olds,
making
ill-informed
decisions.
They
fear
young
people's
progressive
agendas
and
inevitable
change
for
the
government
as
a
result
of
lowering
the
voting
aid.
K
Youth
are
often
directly
impacted
by
the
decisions
of
government.
Thus,
it's
only
right
that
we
have
the
opportunity
to
inform
and
influence
the
policy
that
we're
impacted
by
so
in
closing,
I
honestly
feel,
as
though
boston
can
be
moved
in
a
positive
direction
by
lowering
the
voting
age
and
expanding
our
demographic
on
voters.
Thank
you.
B
B
I
want
to
now
start
with
the
administration
panel,
which
is
commissioner,
anita
tavarez
from
the
elections
department
and
assistant
registrar,
sabino
pimanti
from
the
elections
department.
I
believe
they
are
both
here.
I
see
one
yeah
I
see
both
fantastic
so
with
that
I'm
gonna
go
over
to
anita
tavrez.
If
you
would
like
to
make
an
opening
statement.
L
Excuse
me
good
morning,
chair
arroyo
and
members
of
the
council.
I
want
to
thank
you
for
holding
this
hearing
today.
My
name
is
enada
tsavaris.
I
am
the
chair
of
the
board
of
election
commissioners.
I'm
happy
to
be
invited
here
today
to
discuss,
discuss
the
possibility
of
lowering
the
voting
age
and
municipal
elections
include
16
and
17
year
olds,
and
what
implementation
would
look
like
for
our
department.
B
B
C
Sorry,
I'm
on
I'm
on
mute,
sorry
about
that
and
thank
you
again,
council
arroyo
for
your
patience
with
us
as
we
dealt
with
these
last
minute
arrangements.
So
thank
you
for
accommodating
us,
so
anaysa
is
just
really
quick.
You
know
thank
you
for
making
yourself
available
to
us
this
morning
and
thank
you
to
your
teacher
for
allowing
you
to
be
here
with
us.
C
You
spoke
about
the
viewpoint
of
young
people
who
aren't
interested
or
knowledgeable
enough,
and
I
really
do
appreciate
you
calling
that
out
and
there
are
also
a
lot
of
people
who
oppose
lowering
the
voting
age
because
they
think
that
young
people
aren't
mature
enough
to
vote.
What
would
you
say
to
some
folks
who
think
that.
K
K
C
Can
you
can
you
share
for
our
audience
what
it
feels
like
to
be
a
young
person
who's,
so
civically,
engaged
and
feeling
like
you're?
You
know
you're
fighting
for
equity
in
our
education,
you're
fighting
for
youth
jobs.
Like
can
you
talk
to
us
about
what
it
feels
like
to
continue
to
fight
and
feel
like
you're
not
being
heard
and
how
voting
may
be
able
to
potentially
give
you
all
a
little
bit
more
power
in
that.
K
K
She
never
voted
in
public
elections
and
I
kind
of
had
to
like
urge
her
and
force
her
to
go
and
vote,
and,
while
that's
a
good
thing
that
I'm
getting
my
mom
out
there,
I
feel
as
though
I
should
be
able
to
make
my
own
voice
heard
without
having
to
go
through
parents
and
without
having
to
beg
adults
to
vote
all
young
people
that
are
doing
the
work.
That
adults
should
be
doing
should
have
a
say
in
the
policy.
That's
directly
impacting
us
yeah.
C
Thank
you
for
that,
and
then
for
the
administration.
What
would
you
say
when
you're
thinking
about
like
the
logistics
for
registering
16
to
17
year
olds?
What
would
that
look
like
logistically
for
the
city
of
boston?
Can
you
just
kind
of
help
us
understand
the
the
magnitude
of
what
the
workload
would
look
like
and
kind
of
like
what
your?
What
you're
thinking
is
around
this
issue?.
L
Sorry
we
have
currently
about
2800
registered
well
pre-registration
waiting
for
these
individuals
to
turn
18
so
that
we
can
register
them.
We
would
have
to
consider
a
separate,
secure
database
to
house
our
registered
voters.
That's
separate
from
what
the
state
uses
and
the
one
of
the
reasons
is
that
our
we
also
capture
all
of
our
census,
information
in
our
database
and
mass
general
law.
Chapter
51,
section
4b
only
allows
the
city
of
boston
to
capture
census.
Information
for
residents
that
are
17
years
of
old
17
years
of
age
are
older.
L
Those
individual
16
year
olds
are
also
redacted
for
many
of
our
public,
or
we
can't
even
include
them
in
our
database
right
now,
but
should
we
right
now
in
the
law
states
that
you
can't
provide
any
information,
any
public
information
on
any
16
year
olds,
any
registered
voters
all
registered
voters
and
anyone
participating
in
any
particular
election?
Everyone
knows
that
that
is
a
public
information.
So
that's
something
that
we
would
have
to
have.
C
Figured
out
yeah,
thank
you
for
that,
and
I
do
just
have
one
more
follow-up
question.
Then
I
definitely
have
a
lot
of
colleagues
on
this
call.
So
I
want
to
be
super
mindful
of
that,
but
I'm
just
curious
when
we
think
about
the
lack
of
voter
engagement
election
after
election,
everybody
talks
about
the
low
turnout.
C
C
L
The
flaw-
I
do
agree
that
that
the
earlier
someone
gets
engaged
they
do
form
this
habit
that
carries
that
carries
on
for
the
rest
of
their
life.
I've
been
I've
been
voting
since
I
was
eligible
to
vote
at
age
18.
and
that's
something
that's
been.
It
was
instilled
in
me
very
early,
so
I
do
believe
that
the
sooner
we
can
engage
the
youth
that
they're
more
likely
to
develop
this
habit.
That's
going
to
carry
forward.
L
All
right,
okay,
so
I
think
any
way
we
can
increase
the
voter
participation
is
great.
When
again
we
do,
we
will
employ
any
any
resources
that
we
need
to
to
make
sure
that
the
youth
are
informed
and
that
they
are
aware
of
whatever
their
rights
are.
At
the
moment
we
try
to
engage
bps
as
well.
So
now
that
we
are
in
a
post-pandemic
pandemic
stage,
we're
trying
to
get
back
into
the
schools
try
to
engage
the
youth.
L
D
Thank
you
so
much
council
arroyo
and
thank
you,
commissioner.
It's
so
good
to
hear
your
supportiveness
of
this
and
also
to
understand
some
of
the
logistical
issues
that
we
have
to
focus
on,
and
I
guess
it's
really
useful
to
know
that
you're
not
currently
able
to
hold
the
information
of
the
16
year
olds,
because
I
think
you're
right,
that's
clearly
something
that
we
need
to
add
into
a
final
version
of
this
hrp.
D
Great
yeah,
because
obviously
we
would
we
certainly
like-
would
not
want
to
get
the
hrp
through
only
to
discover
that
we
need
another
home
rule
petition
for
some
data
related
aspect
of
this
so
really
appreciate
you
raising
that
could.
Could
you
tell
me
a
little
bit.
I
know
that
right
now
am
I
right
that
there's
some
there's
a
mechanism
for
17
year
olds
to
register
to
sort
of
pre-register
to
vote
like
they
don't
actually
get
to
vote
ahead
of
turning
18.
L
That
is
correct,
with
every
transaction
at
a
government
agency,
any
16
and
17
year
old
can
pre-register.
So
if
they
go
to
the
registry
of
motor
vehicles
for
their
permit,
they
can
opt
in
to
register
and
they
fit
into
a
queue
and
as
soon
as
they
turn
18,
we
automatically
register
them.
So
we
do
have
currently
almost
2
800,
16
and
17
year
olds,
sitting
in
the
queue
pending
their
birthday.
D
Got
it,
and
so
in
that
context
we
are
able
to
hold
you're
not
able
to
hold
a
sort
of
like
passive
database
of
all
the
16
year
olds
in
the
city,
but
you
are
able
to
hold
these
people
who
have
raised
their
hands
and
said
yes
as
soon
as
I'm
18
I
want
to
be
registered.
That
is
correct,
got
it
so
one
flag
I
would
have,
and
I
don't
think
this
requires
any
change
in
our
legislation,
but
I'd
love
to
know
you
mentioned
before
that.
You
know.
We'd
we'd
have
these.
D
I
think
I
would
love
us
to
think
procedurally
about
a
way
that
anybody
who's
sort
of
registering
in
that
16
17
year
old
pot
is
also
simultaneously
pre-registering
for
the
for
the
you
know,
the
regular
state
thing,
because
the
last
thing
I'd
want
is
for
us
to
have
a
bunch
of
it
franchise,
16
and
17
year
olds,
who
get
used
to
voting
and
then
discover
that
they've
missed
the
sort
of
like
paperwork
to
officially
register
when
they're
18.
So
I
that's
just
one
thing
I
found
myself
thinking
when
you
were
speaking.
D
Yeah,
but
it's
good
to
know
that
we
already
have
a
mechanism
for
that,
like
you're,
already
holding
a
list
like
that,
so
it
should
be
pretty
straightforward,
great
yeah,
I
think,
and
just
good
to
know
that
you
guys
are
also
you
know
willing.
I
recognize
that
this
would
be
a
significant
like
additional
piece
of
the
of
the
puzzle
on
the
election
side,
but
I
think
it's
so
important
and
I
was
thinking
what
counselor
lara
was
talking
about.
D
The
fact
that
I
would
bet
that
almost
every
member
of
this
boston
city
council
was
actively
involved
in
election
work
before
they
turned
18..
So
I
just
think
we
all.
You
know
this
is
a
body
full
of
folks
who
know
that
you
don't
that's,
not
a
magic
number
for
political
engagement
and
concern
about
your
community
and
and
civic
involvement.
So
I
think
it's
a
it's
good
for
us
to
be
talking
about
how
we
can
make
that
that
practical
knowledge
that
we
all
have
you
know
actually
result
in
people's
enfranchisement.
D
I
think
those
are
all
my
questions,
mr
chair,
for
the
administration
for
now
just
just
to
flag
through
you
that,
as
we
think
about
you,
know
language
of
the
hrp
definitely
dealing
with
this
data
holding
issue.
I
think
we
should
all
make
sure
we
resolve
before
anything
gets
forwarded
out
of
committee.
B
Certainly-
and
you
know
you
know-
I
don't
think
I
gave
an
opening
on
this,
but
I'm
obviously
very
supportive
of
this.
I'm
gonna
reserve
my
questions
for
for
the
end
of
this
session
in
terms
of
having
everybody
go
through
first
and
we'll
do
that
in
order
of
arrival,
which
starts
with
council
of
braden.
E
E
If,
if
young
people
is
that
system
going
to
be
continued
like,
if
a
young
person
doesn't
vote,
will
they
be
taking
off
or
will
they
be
kept
on
the
will
they
be
kept
on
the
rolls?
I
know
we
don't
have
municipal
elections
so
once
if
they
register
when
they're
16,
they
will
probably
be
18
by
the
time
the
next
by
the
time
the
next
election
would
municipal
election
would
happen.
E
So
I
just
I'm
concerned
that
that's
that
that
process
of
becoming,
if
you're,
an
early
voter
I've
known
this
from
working
with
young
people
at
the
poll
and
campaigns
recently,
you
know
they
were
they
were
registered,
but
they
because
they
hadn't
voted
before
they
were
considered
inactive
and
then,
when
they
went
to
the
polling
station,
they
were
having
difficulties
they
had
to.
They
were
given
a
prelim.
E
L
Well,
I
will
add
that
a
vote
voters
inactivation
status
has
to
do
with
their
lack
of
respect
response
to
the
annual
listing
of
residents
and
not
whether
or
not
they've
actually
voted.
So
as
long
as
someone
continues
to
respond
to
the
annual
census,
they
their
voting
status
is
actually
they
actually
maintain
an
active
voting
status,
which
is
why
it's
important
and
that
we
address
the
census
aspect
of
this.
That
allows
us
to
only
capture
residents,
17
years
of
age
and
older.
E
L
Well,
we
had
a
by
the
time
we're
done
canvassing
we
get.
We
end
up
having
a
pretty
high
return
rate,
which
I
think
last
year
it
was
about
80
return
rate,
but
again
that
is
due
to
us
having
to
go
door
to
door
to
ensure
that
we
are
that
residents
are
responding
and
we're
hoping
to
leverage
bps
this
time
around
as
well,
and
to
have
the
youth
get
this
information
home
to
their
parents
so
that
they
do
understand
the
importance
of
filling
out
our
senses.
E
B
F
Thank
you
so
much,
mr
chairman,
how
do
you
pronounce
your
names?
Where
is
it
I'm
sorry,
massage
or
nessage
yeah,
like
massage
massage,
first
of
all
go
b,
right,
gold
tigers?
Thank
you
for
being
here,
I'm
so
impressed
by
by
you
and
your
presentation,
and
I
almost
want
to
say
I'm
proud
of
you,
but
I
don't
want
to
sound
patronizing.
I
think
you
are
as
brilliant
as
you
present,
and
I
really
appreciate
you
just
being
here
and
participating
in
this
process.
F
So
I
guess
you
know-
and
maybe
you
can
add
to
this
or
give
me
some
feedback.
I
have
a
16
year
old
in
in
high
school
and
a
23
year
old,
a
24
year
old
and
a
25
year
old,
all
son,
all
boys
right
and
in
order
to
create
this
level
of
engagement,
civic
engagement,
I
would
imagine
that
it's
going
to.
We
should
connect
it
with
us,
some
sort
of
classroom
civic.
F
I
think
council
of
rarity
alluded
to
this,
but
I
think
of
of
that
it's
level
of
engagement
connected
to
school
and
I'm
wondering
how
we're
going
to
follow
up
councilman,
mahir
and
council
bach
how
we
can
follow
up
with
school
and
how?
If
we,
if
this
needs
to
be
a
filing
where
we
include
it
in
the
curriculums,
but
civic
engagement
has,
I
think,
declined
in
possible
schools
as
well.
So
I
think
it's
super
important
that
we
talk
about
that
and
I
think,
there's
the
engagement.
I
really
again.
F
I
have
to
reiterate
that
I
strongly
support
this,
because
I
believe
that
I
remember
at
13
I
was
working
providing
for
my
family
and
as
an
undocumented
immigrant
at
the
time
having
to
worry
about
what
policies
were
affecting
me
at
the
time,
so
undocumented
working
needing
resources
living
in
the
projects.
All
of
these
components-
and
I
think
about
the
marginalized
population
coming
from
converted
early
age
and
you
think
about
how
to
how
to
connect
with
resources.
F
But
I,
if
I
had
I
and
I
did
I
connected
with
gloria
fox
at
the
time-
chuck
turner
and
even
the
governor
wanting
or
needing
resources
and
wanting
to
understand
policies
as
they
could
benefit
or
support
me
at
the
time.
So
I
think
that
again
I
applaud
you
nisaj,
and
this
is
your
moment,
and
this
is
definitely
for
you
at
16.
F
You
show
the
eloquence
and
you're
you've
done
your
homework.
You've
done
your
research
and
you're
here
and
you're
engaged,
and
I
just
really
my
heart
goes
out
to
you
because
I
think
this
is
super
exciting.
Although
these
meetings
are
boring
right,
but
it's
super
exciting
and
we
should
be
celebrating
that
that's
such
a
beautiful
thing
has
been
filed.
So
thank
you
again
for
the
co-sponsors.
I
look
forward
to
supporting
it
and.
B
G
A
lot
of
the
things
around
implementation
that
you're
sharing
will
have
some
overlap
if
this
also
passes
and
we're
adding
more
people
to
the
voting
rolls.
So
I
really
appreciate
that.
I
don't
know
that
I
have
any
questions,
but
I
just
wanted
to
affirm
this
idea
of
civic
education
and
expanding,
giving
access
to
civic
education.
G
I
want
to
invite
us
to
broaden
what
we
define
as
civic
education,
because
we,
you
know
it's
it's
not
just
about
how
city
government
works.
My
civic
education
did
not
happen
at
school.
Civic
education
was
already
not
happened
there.
It
happened
in
political
education
groups
in
the
neighborhood,
it
happened,
like
you
know,
do,
reading
reading
books
together
it
happened
in
organizing
groups
and
so
thinking
about
youth,
justice
and
thinking
about
the
ecosystem
of
young
people.
G
In
the
city
of
boston,
not
just
through
bps,
because
bps
obviously
has
its
own
parameters
and
limitations
to
how
they
teach
civics
and
what
they
can
teach
and
what
that
looks
like,
and
there
has
been
a
systemic
divestment
in
the
youth,
like
youth
serving
organizations
and
in
the
youth
justice
movement
in
the
city
of
boston.
For
the
past
decade,
where
we've
seen
a
bunch
of
the
organizations
that
serve
young
people
shutter,
and
so
as
a
city.
G
If
we're
saying
hey,
we
believe
that
16
17
year
olds
are
not
only
willing
but
capable
and
have
the
vision
and
the
heart
to
vote
and
elect
the
people
who
are
representing
them.
Then
we
need
to
think
about
the
youth
ecosystem
in
the
city
and
how
we
invest
in
that
to
make
sure
that
they
are.
You
know
whatever
we're
defining
as
properly
prepared
to
vote,
also
that
there
are
a
bunch
of
adults
who
are
not
properly
prepared
to
vote
and
don't
do
any
research.
G
This
is
not
like
whatever
excuse
we're
making
about
young
people,
not
knowing.
What's
going
on
plenty
of
adults
have
no
idea
what's
going
on
plenty
plenty
of
adults
show
up
to
the
polls,
you
know
and
just
check
off
the
boxes
or
whoever
the
incumbent
is
or
call
someone
who
they
know.
So
I
think
that
it's,
it's
not
a
good
excuse,
not
a
good
excuse
for
us
to
put,
but
that
there's
a
lot
of
work
that
we
need
to
do
to
invest
in
the
youth
ecosystem
in
the
city.
G
A
I
just
want
you
to
if
you've
had
these
discussions
with
your
friends
with
other
people
like,
can
you
talk
about
the
excitement
around
potentially
getting
that
right
to
vote
like
and
what
what
you've
been
talking
about
with
your
friend
groups
when
it
comes
to
accessing
the
ballot?
I'd
be
curious
to
hear
like
what
is
what
what
does
a
conversation
sound
like
when
you
all
are
talking
about.
K
I
realize
that
there
are
so
that
the
same
climate
that
we
look
at
for
youth
like
there
are
some
that's,
not
engaging,
there's
so
much
of
the
same
climate
that
we
look
at
an
adult.
So
when
I
talk
about
it
with
my
friends,
they're
excited
because
again
we're
getting
to
influence
the
policy
that
directly
impacts
us,
but
also
that
it's
going
to
start
holding
city
councilors
and
mayors
and
other
government
officials
accountable
for
coming
to
our
school,
so
that
we
know
who
you
are.
I
run
a
girls
program.
K
K
They
don't
even
know
what
you
guys
do
and
I
think
it's
important
that
they
do
because
not
only
are
schools
not
teaching
that,
but
our
three
counselors
aren't
at
schools
because,
right
now
you
guys
don't
have
to
be
that's
we're,
not
your
demographic,
and
so
when
we
talk
about
that,
we
talk
about
just
having
more
people
know
and
having
more
youth
know
what
exactly
the
city
council
does.
What
exactly
a
mayor
does
how
they
impact
us
and
I
think,
that's
going
to
be
important
for
young
people
across
the
city.
A
Thank
you
yeah,
and
I
think
it's
even
important,
because
even
if
someone
maybe
not
may
not
know
who
the
mayor
is,
the
city
council
is
giving
them
that
right
to
vote
may
be
what
sparks
their
interest
in
being
right
so
like
even
if
it
didn't
exist
before
it
can
be
what
sparks
it.
So
I
appreciate
your
words
and
sharing
that,
and
I
want
to
thank
commissioner
tavares
and,
of
course
sabino
for
being
here
and
and
shedding
light
on
what
this
would
look
like.
A
I
guess
one
question
I
have
is
you
know
if
we
are,
if
you
know,
hopefully,
the
successful
and
16
and
17
year
olds
are
allowed
to
vote?
What
would
that
look
like
in
terms
of
participating
or
voting
on
issues
like
like
charter
amendments,
referendums,
initiative,
petitions,
things
that
we
depend
on
state
the
you
know
state
government
authorized?
Would
young
people
also
be
able
to
vote
for
those
or,
if
there's
like
you,
know,
a
state?
A
If
there's
like
a
state
ballot
measure
in
that
year,
would
we
have
to
print
separate
ballots
for
that?
So
you
know
for
16
and
17
year
olds,
who
may
not
be
able
to
vote
on
a
state
ballot
measure
so
like
what
does
that
look
like
and
have
we
thought
about
that,
or
is
that
if
those
questions
are
premature,
I
just
wanted
to
put
them
out
there
for
now.
L
I
would
imagine
that,
with
respect
to
having
a
state
ballot
and
a
municipal
ballot,
that's
a
dual
election
that
you
would
have
to
have
two
separate
ballots
and
maintain
two
separate
voting
lists
and
things
of
that
nature.
But
some
of
the
questions
would
all
depend
on
what
is
allowed
in
the
policy
aspect
of
it.
B
J
Thank
you,
nate
sarge,
and
thank
you,
commissioner,
tavares
and
sabino
always
pleasure,
seeing
you
no
no
further
questions
at
this
time,
but
thank
you
for
lending
your
voice,
nate
saj,
to
to
this
conversation,
and
please
continue
advocating
you
know
for
for
your
community
and
for
your
age
group
and
for
the
youth.
So
thank
you.
B
Thank
you,
councilworld,
and
so
my
questions,
I
think,
have
already
been
asked,
but
in
terms
of
the
registration
process,
if
we
are
able
to
successfully
create
this,
which
I
think
we
should
16
is
also
the
age
that
you
can
begin
unless
they
changed
it.
I
know
I
got
my
license
at
16
and
a
half
for
better
or
worse,
but
in
terms
of
registration
for
16
year
olds
and
17
year
olds,
usually
the
way
we
catch
this
is
the
catch.
I
was
using
the
rmb.
What
do
we?
What
are
we
gonna?
B
L
Again,
that
would
all
depend
on
the
policy.
We
do
encourage
the
online
voter
registration
system
when
we
are
registering
voters,
as
you
mentioned,
the
rmv
is
a
seems
to
be
a
pretty
successful
tool
or
the
pre
automatic
voter
registration
seems
to
be
very,
very
successful
in
driving
up
our
voter
registration
numbers.
So
that's
a
tool
that
is
heavily
utilized.
It's
not
just
a
registry
of
motor
vehicles.
It's
any
government
agency,
any
transaction
with
the
government
agency
individuals
can
register
to
vote
there
we
do
have
to.
L
I
think
we
still
need
a
separate
paper
registration.
If
we
are
going
to
lower
the
voting
age,
we
would
have
to
create
a
separate
paper
registration
for
when
we
do
attend
or
hold
voter
registration
drives
in
the
schools,
which
is
something
that
we
do.
We
we
try
to
get
into
all
of
bps
high
schools,
all
the
independent
schools
as
well
in
the
city
of
boston,
so
that
we
can
register
youth,
and
so
they
know
what
their
options
are.
L
We
do
our
best
here
to
try
and
engage
them,
and
we
are
finding
now
that
covet
is
over.
Everyone
is
kind
of
opening
up
their
arms
to
us
as
again
and
allowing
us
into
their
buildings
so
that
we
can
get
you
registered
so
those
that
are
not
doing
it
online.
At
least
we
have
someone
there
who's,
helping
them
walk
through
the
voter
registration
process,.
B
B
B
Yeah,
that's
perfectly
fine,
but
we
do
have
those
numbers,
basically
what
we're
saying
so
so
that
we
do
track
that?
Yes,
fantastic,
that's,
wonderful,
thank
you
and
then
I'm
just
trying
to
make
sure
I
go
through
all
the
administration
stuff.
So
I
can
release
you
in
terms
of
the
question
on
the
municipal.
Just
the
what
elections
are
we
saying
16
17
years
to
vote
for?
Is
there
something
special
that
has
to
happen
if
we
want
them
to
have
access?
B
B
D
I
was
just
going
to
say
counselor
right.
I
think
the
reason
that
it's
specified
municipal
is
that
at
the
state
elections
level,
it
would
create
like
a
equal
protection
issue
if,
if
16
17
year
olds
were
allowed
to
vote
in
boston,
but
not
in
other
cities
and
towns
for
the
same
like
for
governor
or
whatever,
so,
basically,
the
the
lowering
of
the
voting
age
for
state
elections
would
need
to
happen.
C
Yeah,
no,
I
I
think,
counselor.
I
really
do
appreciate
your
question
in
regards
to
the
numbers,
because
the
point
that
I
was
trying
to
get
at
is
really
to
help
demonstrate
the
opportunity
that
we
have
to
expand
voter
turnout
and
engagement
in
municipal
elections,
so
the
data
in
terms
of
how
many
16
to
17
year
olds.
I
know
that
you
don't
capture
the
data
for
17
and
under,
but
just
even
to
have
a
sense
of
like
how
many
17
year
olds
we
could
potentially
include
in
in
a
said
upcoming
municipal
election.
C
B
You
thank
you.
I
do
have
a
question
if
he's
here,
for
because
I
do
believe
he'll
probably
be
the
the
one
to
be
able
to
answer
this
for
sabino
pimante,
but
I
know
that
in
other
states
and
cities
they
do
out
of
precinct
voting.
This
sounds
sort
of
unrelated,
but
it
isn't
and
I'll
still
tell
you
how
and
why,
but
basically,
I
know
other
states
and
cities
do
out
of
precinct
voting,
which
are
folks
listening
means.
B
I
can
vote
wherever
and
then
that
vote
will
get
counted
in
my
precinct
in
my
city
so
like
if
you,
if
you
work
at
a
building
or
you
go
to
a
school,
for
example,
even
if
it
is
not
your
precinct,
where
you
are
supposed
to
vote,
you
can
vote
there
and
then
that
vote
gets
counted.
Other
places
do
this,
namely
new
mexico,
does
out
of
precinct
voting.
My
my
question
here
for
sabino
or
for
miss
tavares
is
could
boston.
B
Do
that
the
reason
I'm
thinking
about
that
is,
if
you
have,
if
you
have
students,
usually
the
election
is
the
first
tuesday
when
students
are
in
school.
A
number
of
I
can't
put
a
total
number
to
it,
but
a
number
of
our
polling
precincts
are
actually
schools,
and
so,
even
if
that
is
not
the
school
at
which
they
would
be
normally
voting.
B
If
we
had
some
process
for
out
of
prison
voting,
which
I
think
would
be
convenient
for
everybody
not
just
16
to
17
year
olds,
it
would
give
them
the
opportunity
to
vote
at
the
school
closest
to
them
or
at
their
school
or
whatever
is
more
convenient
as
we
try
to
open
up
access.
What
what
could
we
do
to
advance
sort
of
out
of
precinct
voting?
Is
that
something
that
we
could
do?
Municipally.
L
Thank
you
for
your
question.
Counselor.
I
think
I
can
handle
answering
this
one.
I
think
that
would
pose
a
greater
challenge
for
our
department
if
we
were
going
to
have
out
of
precinct
voting
for
the
entire
city.
That
is
something
that
we
do
with
early
voting,
but
it's
not
something
that
is
done
anywhere
across
the
state
of
massachusetts.
L
So
I
think
there
would
be
a
greater
burden
there,
because
then
we
would
have
to
ensure
that
we're
providing
every
single
ballot
style
across
the
city
for
every
single
one
of
our
voting
precincts.
We
would
have
to
make
sure
that
we
have
an
appropriate
number
of
ballots
if
ballots
need
to
be
replenished,
it's
just
going
to
create
an
added
challenge
for
our
department.
B
L
They
made
some
places
have
ballot
on
demand,
which
we
would
love
to
see
here,
but
unfortunately
we
do
not
so
right
now
at
the
moment,
for
early
voting.
What
we're
doing
is
just
providing
a
bin
with
every
single
ballot
style.
So
we're
relying
on
the
poll
workers
to
go
through
and
retrieve
the
proper
ballot
style
for
every
single
registered
voter.
L
Ballot
on
demand
is
sometimes
it
depends
on
where
you
are.
Sometimes
it
can
just
be.
You
get
you
get
a
card
and
you
put
it
into
a
machine
and
the
machine
automatically
automatically
prints
the
appropriate
balance
style
for
that
voter
based
on
where
they
live
and
who
their
representatives
are
going
to
be,
but
again
for
the
city
of
boston.
Unfortunately,
we
don't
have
that.
It
will
be
great
when
the
time
comes
that
we
do,
it
will
make.
B
We're
in
budget
season,
so
I
appreciate
you
raising
up
that.
There's
some
cool
machine
that
just
tells
you
it
gives
you
what
you
need,
and
so
thank
you
so
much
for
that,
and
thank
you
to
nasaj,
who
I
see
is
still
here.
I
know
you
have
to
leave
at
11
30.,
so
hopefully
there's
room
for
another
thing:
it's
good
to
see
the
ob
tigers
in
the
house,
but
thank
you
for
your
advocacy
and
thank
you
for
being
here.
B
I
remember
being
in
high
school
and
free
periods
were
not
things
I
gave
away
easily.
So
thank
you
for
being
here
for
this.
I
don't
think
I
have
any
questions
for
you
because
everybody's
already
asked
them.
I
just
wanted
to
say
thank
you
for
taking
the
time
to
be
here
and
to
be
such
a
great
advocate
for
early
voting
and
why
it's
necessary,
and
with
that
I
don't
know
if
anybody
has
any
second
follow-up
questions
for
the
administration,
so
that
I
can
release
them
and
go
to
the
advocates.
B
F
B
Don't
worry,
no
worries
they're
going
up
now.
Thank
you,
commissioner
anderson
commissioner
anderson.
Look,
I
gave
you
a
new
job.
Thank
you,
counselor
anderson.
Thank
you,
commissioner.
Tavares
thank
you
assistant,
registrar,
sabino,
pimanti,
and
so
now
we're
gonna
transition
to
our
advocates.
I
believe
they
are
all
here.
As
I
look
at
this
we'll
be
joined
later
or
soon
by
willie
sullivan,
the
senior
director
of
campaigns
in
scotland,
electoral
reform
society.
B
We
are
currently
joined
by
director
cheryl
crawford,
the
executive
director
of
mass
hope
and
vanessa
snow,
the
director
of
policy
and
organizing
at
mass
hope.
We
are
also
joined
by
brandon
klugman
associate
director
of
campaigns
at
generation,
citizen
and
naysad
ware
has
already
gone,
but
she
will
also
be
here
for
for
this
part
of
the
panel
as
well,
and
so
with
that
I
don't
know
what
order
the
advocates
would
prefer
to
go
in,
but
please
feel
free
to
to
go
in
whichever
order.
H
N
N
As
many
of
you
know,
mass
vote
is
a
non-partisan
nonprofit
issue,
advocacy
organization,
that's
dedicated
to
voting
rights,
and
today,
mass
vote
is
proud
to
speak
on
support
of
docket
number
0185,
a
home
rule
petition
to
lower
the
voter
rate,
the
voter
age
to
16
for
boston's
municipal
elections,
and
there
are
many
reasons.
Why
kind
of
my
personal
connection
to
this
issue
as
some
people
on
the
council
and
the
other
advocates,
I
first
got
involved
in
community
organizing
and
civic
engagement
at
the
age
of
14.
N
So
that's
about
20
years
ago,
and
I
was
part
of
a
community
organization
that
had
successfully
worked
to
lower
the
voting
age
to
16
to
the
jamaica,
plain
neighborhood
council.
So,
just
one
example
is
that
young
people
do
have
the
right
to
vote
on
neighborhood
council
elections
in
jamaica,
plain,
so
jamaica
plain
is
a
little
bit
ahead
and
youth
are
actually
also
able
to
serve
on
the
on
the
neighborhood
council
as
well,
and
then
also
for
maybe
like
six
or
seven
years
ago,
working
with
the
hyde
square
task
force.
N
So
some
of
the
reasons
why
why
we
should
lower
the
voting
age?
The
first
is
practical,
and
you
know
people
have
already
mentioned
16
and
17
year.
Olds
are
already
allowed
to
drive,
work
and
pay
taxes
if
we
provide
them
with
such
responsibility
and
trust.
Why
can't
we
simply
just
add
voting
rights
to
that
list?
N
N
Each
of
these
areas
are
directly
impacted
by
those
who
serve
as
mayor
and
on
the
city
council.
As
a
result,
it's
only
fair
that
16
and
17
year
olds
have
a
say
in
who
represents
them
in
city
hall,
yet
it
is
only
the
six.
Yet
it
is
not
only
the
ish
on
these
issues
that
16
and
17
year
olds
deserve
a
voice.
They
are
inheriting
a
planet
that
is
fundamentally
altered
by
climate
change.
They
are
reckoning
years
later,
with
the
death
of
george
floyd
and
what
exactly
criminal
justice
is
supposed
to
mean.
N
For
all
these
reasons,
they
deserve
to
have
their
voice
heard
and
votes
counted
in
local
elections
and
alongside
the
fact
that
this
reform
is
practical,
it
is
also
positive.
Research
reveals
that
civic
participation
increases
in
long
increases
in
long
term
when
16
and
17
year
olds
are
granted
the
right
to
vote.
This
is
critical
for
a
city
like
boston,
where
we're
lucky
to
see
a
third
of
all
registered
voters
turn
out
in
a
municipal
election
plus
the
interest
of
voting
spreads
when
16
and
17
year
olds
become
more
engaged
in
the
electoral
process.
N
They
make
those
around
them
more
engaged.
They
talk
to
their
parents
about
the
election
and
their
parents
will
talk
to
others.
Additionally,
if
voters
are
allowed
to
start
casting
ballots
locally,
when
they
are
16,
then
they
will
be
more
likely
to
turn
out
to
vote
throughout
the
rest
of
their
lives.
N
tacoma
park
maryland,
which
is
a
suburb
of
washington
dc,
did
so
in
2013,
and
when
16
and
17
year
olds
actually
did
turn
out,
they
turned
out
double
the
rate
of
voters,
ages,
18
and
older,
and
this
election
made
clear
that
16
and
17
year
olds
want
to
vote
and
do
vote.
Four.
Other
cities
in
maryland
have
lowered
the
voting
age
to
16
and
in
oakland
california,
they
lowered
the
voting
age
to
16
for
school
board
elections.
N
H
O
Thank
you
very
much.
You
got
it
exactly
right.
Thank
you
very
much,
mr
chair
and
members
of
the
council
for
the
opportunity
to
join
you
here
today.
I
am
here
on
behalf
of
generation
citizen,
which
is
a
non-partisan
nonprofit
working
to
ensure
that
all
students
have
access
to
project-based
civics
education
that
prepares
them
for
lifelong
informed
engaged
citizenship.
O
Now
the
others
have
mentioned
the
research
on
this
is
clear.
The
16
is
a
better
time
than
18
to
build
that
habit
and
start
on
the
road
to
becoming
a
lifelong
voter,
as
others
have
also
mentioned,
and
as
vanessa
just
talked
about
a
little
bit.
The
cities
that
have
implemented
16
year
old
voting
elsewhere
in
the
united
states
have
seen
overwhelmingly
positive
results.
They
have
seen
16
and
17
year
olds
vote
at
higher
rates
than
older
age
groups,
showing
that
it's
a
better
time
to
build
that
habit.
O
They've
also
seen
an
increase
in
interest
in
city
programming
and
city
services
and
more
vibrant
discussion
around
community
issues.
I
had
the
chance
to
talk
with
one
of
the
city
council
members
from
one
of
those
pioneering
cities
about
what
they've
noticed,
in
addition
to
just
the
numbers,
and
they
told
me
that
16
and
17
year
olds,
in
their
words,
were
acting
like
residents
with
a
stake
in
the
city,
making
requests
sharing
input
just
like
highly
engaged
citizens
who
are
able
to
vote
in
local
elections,
which
is
exactly
what
everyone
wants
to
see.
O
We
know
and
as
has
been
demonstrated
today,
that
many
16
and
17
year
olds
in
boston
are
already
highly
engaged
and
working
to
make
the
city
better
in
countless
ways.
We're
excited
that
this
would
take
that
engagement.
One
step
further.
Nine
cities
and
towns
in
massachusetts
have
already
approved
home
rule.
Petitions
on
this
exact
issue
in
the
past
several
years
and
action
by
the
city
of
boston
would
of
course,
represent
a
major
step
forward
for
for
the
entire
state,
which
is
already
considered
the
issue
in
many
localities.
O
I
also
want
to
mention
and
share
appreciation
for
the
boston
city
council's
action
in
2019,
when
the
council
approved
a
resolution
supporting
state
legislation
at
the
time
that
sought
to
allow
cities
to
expand
voting
rights
to
16
17
year
olds,
without
needing
to
go
through
the
home
rule
petition
process.
We
are
really
grateful
for
the
council's
leadership
on
that
resolution
a
couple
years
ago
and
we're
thrilled
to
see
the
council
now
considering
the
actual
home
repetition
proposal
from
from
the
city
of
boston.
O
The
last
thing
I
want
to
mention
is
my
great
appreciation
for
the
many
counselors
who
have
mentioned
this
morning:
the
importance
of
strong
civics
education
in
our
schools.
We
know
that
students
learn
best
when
what
they
learn
in
the
classroom
is
relevant
to
life
outside
of
the
classroom,
and
we
know
that
there
is
no
better
way
to
make
civics
education
relevant
than
by
actually
extending
the
opportunity
to
participate
in
our
democracy
in
the
most
fundamental
way
through
voting
in
our
elections.
O
So
all
that
said,
we
encourage
the
the
city
council
to
approve
this
home
petition.
We
look
forward
to
seeing
the
continued
vibrant
participation
of
16
and
17
year
olds
and
all
young
people
in
all
aspects
of
life
and
we're
happy
to
be
part
of
the
conversation
on
how
to
do
this
and
how
to
do
it
right
when
it
comes
to
the
implementation,
the
logistics
and
then
the
work
to
continue.
Educating
young
people
for
lifelong
informed
engaged
citizenship.
B
P
Yes,
I'm
vanessa
did
a
great
job.
First
of
all,
I
want
to
say
good
morning,
chairman
arroyo
and
lead
sponsors
and
to
the
rest
of
the
sistine
council.
Thank
you
so
much
for
this
timely
hearing,
vanessa's
representing
mass
vote.
With
our
point
of
view.
I
just
wanted
to
throw
in
there
that
every
movement
has
been
led
by
youth
right
like
in
the
sooner
we
get
them.
P
I
know
I
heard
someone
say
earlier
that
the
earlier
we
get
youth
involved
civically,
it's
the
habit
that
they
form,
thereby
creating
this
culture
of
civic
engagement
and
civic
participation.
They
need
to
be
in
the
know.
They
are
mature,
they're,
mature
enough
to
drive
to
pay
taxes
to
work
right.
You
know.
I
think
that
this
is
a
learning
curve,
as
we've
had
so
many
issues
through
covey
covered
with
the
band-aid
off
of
so
many
things
that
just
really
lifted
up
the
need
to
have
as
many
voices
at
the
table
as
possible.
P
I
think
the
only
way
that
we're
going
to
be
they
are
a
critical
part
of
our
movement.
In
order
for
us
to
pass
the
torch
adequately,
we
need
to
get
them
involved
earlier
and
let
them
see
what
this
is
all
about
and
how
this
is
impacting
their
lives.
You
know
we
have
a
lot
of
challenges
and
it's
been
said
several
times
already
today.
So
many
challenges
with
our
adults,
miss
ware
said
it
perfectly
right,
like
we
try
to
say
that
they're
immature,
we
have
many
adults
that
are
immature,
that
don't
know
their
government
system.
P
They
don't
know
who
their
city
councils
are
things
of
that
nature.
I
think
the
youth
tie
into
this
in
two
ways:
one
they're
great
messengers
for
their
parents.
That
may
not
know-
and
it's
just
that
you
know
with
the
times
the
way
they
are
right
now
we
need
to
be
holding
on
to
our
youth
in
any
way
possible
and
if
that
means
getting
them
to
become
civically,
engaged
in
their
own
communities,
that
is
what's
going
to
help
us
right
like
we
need
as
many
messengers
as
possible.
P
B
C
Thank
you,
and
I'm
so
incredibly
grateful
to
all
of
our
advocates
for
not
just
showing
up
for
always
making
sure
that
folks
are
civically,
engaged
and
participating
in
their
own
lives,
and
I
just
wanted
to
just
uplift
something
that
cheryl
just
talked
about
around
the
way.
I
see
this
is
an
opportunity
to
really
not
only
flex
that
political
muscle,
but
to
continue
to
condition
it
right
from
what
I
understand.
C
I
think
starting
them
young,
we'll
start
to
see
in
neighborhoods
that
have
been
traditionally
when
we
see
a
low
voter
turnout,
we'll
start
seeing
that
year
after
year,
as
they
continue
to
flex
that
muscle
that
we're
going
to
start
seeing
a
larger
voter
turnout
in
some
of
our
communities-
and
I
think
I
just
wanted
to
just
uplift
that
the
importance
of
that
repetition
is
is
really
important
and
I
think
six
years
is
what
it
takes
to
go
from
a
non-voter
to
a
super
voter.
So,
let's
make
sure
that
we
start
them
young.
C
C
But
can
you
just
talk
a
little
bit
about
some
of
the
best
practices
that
we
can
take
on
through
our
own
fight
here
in
the
city
of
boston
and
then
for
venice
I'll,
just
drop
this
question
in
so
that
you
can
start
thinking
about
it?
How
can
we
make
sure
that
political
organizations
in
boston
are
also
prepared
for
this
new
rise
in
young
people?
Voting
like
I'd
love,
to
hear
a
little
bit
from
the
nonprofit
sector
like
what
do
we
need
to
do
to
help
support
that
infrastructure
as
well.
N
I
actually
can't
talk
that
much
to
what
it
looks
like
in
in
maryland
and
oakland,
except.
I
know
that
oakland,
it's
limited
to
the
school
committee,
and
so
I
mean
it
would
be
interesting
to
perhaps
talk
with
the
elections
departments
in
those
cities
in
in
maryland
to
see
how
they
were
able
to
implement
it.
Logistically
because
there
might
be
some
best
practices
there
in
terms
of
how
we
can
engage,
I
mean
there's
so
many
different.
N
I
think
boston
has
so
many
great
youth
organizations,
and
you
know
even
like
the
city's
youth
jobs
program.
You
know,
like
I
feel,
like
most
high
school
cities.
Students
in
boston
really
do
know
the
role
that
city
government
plays
in
their
in
their
life.
I
think,
like
you,
know,
having
them,
you
know
they
could.
Potentially
their
school
could
be
their
voting
place.
N
You
know
so
it
might
just
be
a
matter
of
them
going
down
to
the
cafeteria
during
their
lunch
break,
and
you
know
in
that
way
it'll
be
easier
for
them
to
vote
than
a
lot
of
other
people,
but
we
also
know
that
we
need
to
generally
expand
how
accessible
it
is
for
all
people
to
vote
in
this
city.
You
know
like-
and
there
are
so
many
different
other
reforms
that
that
we
could
explore
like
such
as
you
know,
free
public
transportation
or
even
turning
election
day
into
a
holiday.
N
C
So
thank
you
for
doing
that,
and
I
really
do
appreciate
that
and
I
really
do
appreciate
in
terms
of
infrastructure
and
some
of
the
ideas,
because
I
think
it's
important
for
the
elections
department
to
think
about
the
ease
and
how
we
go
about
making
this
not
just
a
reality
in
terms
of
passing
this
through
our
homework
petition,
but
then
setting
them
up
for
success
through
building
that
infrastructure.
So
so
thank
you
for
that,
okay,
brandon.
So
the
question
specifically
around
what
what
it
looks
like
in
other
cities.
O
Yes,
absolutely
so
excuse
me
so,
based
on
on
my
sort
of
you
know,
work
and
and
awareness
of
how
this
has
worked
on
their
places.
The
questions
that
we've
heard
this
morning
are
on
logistics
and
implementation
are
the
exact
questions
that
these
these
pioneering
cities
asked
at
the
outset
of
their
processes
that
allowed
them
to
then
implement
successfully.
They
focused
on
logistics
focused
on
implementation
from
the
very
start,
which
is
why
it's
so
encouraging
to
see
that
conversation
emerge
today
I
mean
some
of
the
the
finer
points
I
think
depend
on.
O
The
education
efforts
in
the
community
could
start
making
sure
that
everybody
who
was
newly
eligible
to
vote
was
aware
of
that
new
eligibility
and
had
the
information
they
needed
to
go
ahead
and
take
advantage
of
it.
And
so
I
think
that
you
know
it's
clear
that
the
the
council
is
is
certainly
going
about
this
in
a
way
that
will
set
everyone
up
to
be
able
to
share
that
information
and
set
this
policy
up
to
not
only
be
passed
and
implemented
well,
but
then
to
also
have
a
really
successful
impact
in
the
years
down.
C
I
D
Yeah
thanks
so
much
I
was
wondering,
if
maybe
I
don't
know,
vanessa
or
charles,
if
you
guys
had
any
comments
on
it.
It
seems
as
though
you
know
one
significant
community
in
boston
that
this
would
go
some
way
towards
enfranchising
is
our
immigrant
community.
I
think
you
know
councilor
laura
mentioned
there's
another
hearing
before
the
council
about
potentially
letting
immigrant
residents
of
the
city
vote,
something
I'm
supportive
of
but
separately.
N
Well,
yeah,
definitely
having
young
people
vote.
It
would
be
one
more
vote.
If
not
the
only
vote
that
a
family,
a
family
would
have.
You
know-
and
I
know
for
a
lot
of
a
lot
of
us
who
come
from
those
first
generations.
You
know
where
we're
voting.
You
know
for
all
the
people
before
us
who
weren't
given
that
right,
and
so
I
don't
think
those
decisions
would
be
taken
very
lightly
and
I
guess,
in
terms
of.
N
N
We
have
the
votes
act
in
in
the
conference
committee,
which
would
you
know
we're
hoping
that
we're
still
holding
out
to
see
if
we
can
get
the
election
day
voter
registration
too,
which
would
also
be
a
huge,
very
a
huge,
positive
reform
in
our
electoral
process,
especially
for
many
of
our
of
our
of
our
families.
You
know
immigrants
working
class
people
who
are
often
so
you
know
transient
or
often
being
displaced
same
day.
Voter
registration
would
allow
them
to
be
able
to.
N
You
know
they
may
show
up
to
a
voting
location.
Their
address
has
changed
so
they
you
know
they're.
They
can
no
longer
vote
at
that
address,
but
it
wouldn't
mean
that
they
would
be
left
to
do
a
provisional
ballot,
but
they
would
actually
be
able
to
update
their
address
and
vote
in
that
election
and-
and
so
you
know-
I
think
you
know
there
are
several
different
things
that
we
can
do
to
to
expand.
B
I
see
you
joined
by
and
sorry
to
cut
you
off
there
counselor
bach,
but
I've
seen
we've
been
joined
by
mr
sullivan
I'd
like
to
give
him
a
chance
to
do
an
intro,
so
that
folks
can
ask
questions
again.
But
thank
you
for
joining
us,
mr
sullivan.
I
know
we're
on
different
time
zones,
but
we
are
united
in
cause
and
so
the
floor
is
yours
for
any
opening
assignment
that
you
would
like
to
give.
M
I
would
say
behind
all
that
I
mean
there's
in
in
scotland
and
in
the
uk
as
a
whole,
there's
steady
decline
and
numbers
of
people
that
come
out
and
vote
and
take
part
in
public
elections.
It
goes
up
and
down
a
bit,
but
generally
it's
it.
It
it's
not
good
and
in
scottish
parliament
elections
and
local
government
elections
here
you
know
we're
we're
lucky
if
we
get
60
percent
in
in
the
parliament
elections
and
and
it's
down
in
the
30s
and
40s
for
the
for
the
for
the
local
government
elections.
M
I
would
say
there
was
a
lot.
A
lot
of
attention,
as
I
said,
was
a
lot
of
attention
given
to
young
people
when
they
were
involved
in
debates
and
because
it
was
such
a
big,
significant
issue
in
scotland,
a
lot
of
them
did
engage
in
it
and
you
could
hear
them
during
the
campaign
period
and
up
to
on
on
media.
M
Being.
You
know,
really
articulate,
really
well
informed
and
really
curious
about
what
was
going
on.
I
think
that
was
one
of
the
most
important
things
if
I
guess
when,
when
people
get
to
18-
and
they
expect
to
get
the
vote
as
it
was,
then
then
they're
all
it's
almost
like
they're
kind
of
slightly
jaded
by
that
point,
but
by
the
the
time,
but
because
they
were
given
something
special
like
that
and
there
was
a
bit
of
attention
on
them.
M
I
think
there
was
a
real
engagement
in
it
and
the
turnout
showed
that
in
the
end
I
mean
it
was
a
really
high
turnout
anyway,
it
was
like
in
in
the
mid-80s
for
the
referendum,
but
you
know
that
was
that
was
echoed
in
the
in
the
votes
in
16
17
year
olds.
So
it
was
a
success.
Some
of
the
other
data
that
came
out
and
I'm
sorry
I've
been
out
with
covid
and
and
got
got
the
time
mixed
up.
So
I've
not
got
all
the
data
that
I
might
have
in
normal
times.
M
It's
just
more
of
a
kind
of
my
my
my
reflections
on
what
happened,
but
yeah
there
was
a.
There
was
a
fair
bit
of
evidence
that
some
of
these
young
people
were
going
back
into
their
homes
and
creating
discussion
and
debate
amongst
their
parents,
who
were
slightly
more
jaded
by
the
political
system
and
processes
and
kind
of
there
was
a
there
was
a
there
was
evidence
that
that
actually
had
a
positive
effect
on
them
going
and
voting
young
people
went
in
there.
M
How
far
that
I
mean,
I
think
that
cadre
has,
in
general,
been
more
engaged
and
more
active
and
and
voting
than
than
young
people
were
previously
giving
them
the
vote,
and
that
might
have
been
because
it
was
a
particularly
special
political
moment.
It's
a
very
big
political
event,
the
the
independence
referendum,
but
I
also
think
it
it
was
about
the
debates,
the
focus,
the
tying
in
with
the
education
system.
M
Around
about
that
time
I
mean
scotland,
we're
quite
lucky
and
we've
got
a
program
called,
what's
called
modern
studies,
which
is
a
political
education
program.
That's
been
going
on
for
decades
and
probably
and
qualifications
hold
similar
merit
to
getting
a
qualification
in
history
or
or
geography
a
qualification
in
modern
studies.
Has
you
gives
you
the
same
entry
qualifications
to
to
higher
education,
etc?
M
So
it
was
kind
of
tying
together
the
fact
that
young
people
were
given
to
vote
in
1617,
along
with
the
you
know,
tying
that
into
education
and
a
focus
on
asking
them
what
they
thought
and
allowing
their
curiosity
to
be
satisfied
about
what
was
going
on
in
in
politics
and
in
representation
and
important
in
elections.
Thanks.
B
Thank
you,
and
I
think
one
of
the
wonders
of
virtual
zoom
hearings
is
that
we
get
to
then
sort
of
diversify
and
increase
the
the
number
of
voices
on
our
panel
in
panels.
So
thank
you
so
much
for
being
here
we're
on
counselor
bach
right
now.
So
if
you
have
questions
counselor
back,
I'm
gonna
keep
it
with
you.
I
and
then,
if
I
know,
we've
already
gone
through
counseling
here
but
councilman
here.
B
D
So
it
would
be
a
similar
thing
where
folks
are
enfranchised
for
one
set
of
elections
and
not
for
another,
and
I
mean
I
think
we
think
that
might
engender
some
impatience,
but
maybe
that
will
help
drive
change
as
well,
and
I
just
wondered
if
since,
but
it's
not
obviously
something
we
we
in
the
states
do
a
lot,
we
haven't
historically
done
a
lot
of
this
kind
of
different
electorates
for
different
things.
You
guys
do
more
of
it
over
there.
M
M
So
I
mean,
I
think,
if
I
remember
rightly,
the
levels
of
of
continuing
to
vote
haven't
been
what
they
were
at
the
referendum,
but
turnouts
for
16
17
year
olds
and
the
other
elections
that
they
are
allowed
to
vote
in
is
similar
to
what
is
for
for
for
the
wider
population,
and
I
think
we
did
see
a
whole
cadre
of
kind
of
activist
interest
in
young
young
people
in
in
politician
in
politics
after
that
time.
There's
some
frustration
that
you
can't
vote
westminster.
Definitely,
but
I
think
you're
right.
M
It's
only
the
ruling
party
at
the
moment
that
doesn't
support
votes
for
16
17.,
mainly
on
the
basis
of
the
of
what
happened
in
scotland.
Another
interesting
point
I
would
like
to
make
about
what
happened
in
scotland
before
the
16
17
year
old
vote
was
introduced.
The
majority
of
the
public
in
poland
was
against
it.
You
know
it
was
quite
high.
Actually
in
the
high
60s
and
70s,
the
public
didn't
want
16
17
year
olds
to
have
votes,
but
once
they'd
experienced
it
and
saw
what
happened
that
rocketed
to
the
other
way
around.
D
Obviously
16
and
17
year
olds
are
are
more
than
capable
of
really
active
political
engagement.
So
I
I
think
I
I
suspect
we
would
have
a
similar
sense
here
if
we
went
through
with
this.
So
just
you
know
really
really
grateful
for
the
example,
like
the
chair
said
it's
it's
great
to
have
virtual
hearings
for
this
purpose,
and
I
think
it's
I
wanted
to
invite
you
to
just
underscore
that
this
isn't
some.
You
know
crazy
thing
that
no
one's
ever
done.
D
E
Thank
you.
It's
lovely
to
hear
a
scottish
accent,
I'm
from
across
the
shop
in
northern
ireland,
so
willie,
it's
nice
to
see
you.
You
know,
in
terms
of
we
watched
the
the
the
scottish
referendum
with
great
interest,
especially
anyone
with
context
from
northern
ireland.
The
I
think
it
was
a
93
turnout
in
that
election
that
that
referendum
is
am
I
correct.
M
You
go.
I
was
actually
looking
at
the
page
to
see
if
I
could
find
the
turnout
yeah
it
was
it
was.
It
was
the
highest
thing
we've
ever
done.
It
was
at
93,
it
could
have
been.
It's
like.
I
can't,
as
I
said,
I've
not
had
time
to
look
at
look
at
data
and
stuff
and
it's
a
while
ago
so
yeah
it
was
the
highest
tournament
ever
in
the
public
election.
I
thought
it
was
in
the
high
high
80s,
but
could
have
been
as
high
as
93.
E
Yeah,
no-
and
that's
just
proof
of
the
concept
that,
if
you
engage
with
our
younger
voters
and
you
get
a
level
of
enthusiasm
and
and
empower
them
to
use
their
franchise,
that
your
our
voter
turnout
for.
We
have
an
abysmal
turnout
in
municipal
elections
in
boston
at
times.
So
I
think
this
would
be
a
great
way
to
to
drive
turnout
and
increase
civic
engagement
among
a
very
important
section
of
our
community.
E
M
I'd
say:
there's
a
whole
cadre
of
young
people
who
are
involved
in
scottish
politics
that
are
only
involved
in
scottish
politics
because
of
that
time
in
that
period,
and
and
some
of
them
were
part
of
that
16
17
year
old,
cadre
for
sure
so
yeah
I
mean
the
the
jan
erickson-
I
think
the
the
they
did
all
the
research
from
edinburgh
and
and
there
was
a
number
of
presentations
posts
actually
to
look
at
it.
The
european
union
funded
a
lot
of
that
it
was.
M
It
was
a
wholly
positive
outcome
and
I
think
the
yeah,
the
continuation
of
of
engagement,
was
definitely
there.
As
I
said,
I
had
time
to
revisit
these
papers
and
it
was
a
while
ago,
but
I
can
remember
that
it
was
it
was.
It
was
seen
as
a
holy
positive
exercise
and
the
ongoing
outcome
and
impacts
were
were
pretty
impressive.
I
remember
that.
B
A
Thank
you.
I
just
want
to
thank
all
the
panelists,
especially
massive
vanessa
and
cheryl,
for
all
of
your
insight
and
honestly
having
insight
as
well
from
brandon
and
mr
sullivan,
especially
from
across
the
water,
really
appreciate
it,
and
thank
you
for
giving
insight.
As
to
you
know,
this
is
very
much
doable
having
16
and
17
year
olds
vote
and
and
and
how
it
can
be
really
habit-forming,
which
is
really
important
to
bring
people
into
our
democracy,
especially
our
young
folks,
who
in
so
many
ways
lead
the
way.
B
F
Thank
you
so
much
council
royal
chairman,
thank
you
for
all
the
panelists
that
was
very
informative,
really
appreciate
all
of
the
work
and
the
passion
that
goes
into
it
and
it
seems,
like
you
know
you,
you
really
made
this
more
informative
that
I
was
prepared
for,
and
I
really
appreciate
that,
I'm
looking
forward
to
more
dialogue
and
seeing
where
this
goes
and
again
once
again.
Thank
you
so
much
for
the
youth
that
testified
as
well
as
the
commissioner
and
sabino.
Thank
you.
Everyone.
J
J
Is
there
any
infrastructure
to
kind
of
educate
the
youth
organize
the
youth
that's
going
on
in
scotland
and
to
you
know,
retain
them,
or
you
know,
even
before
they're,
16
and
17
years
old.
Is
there
anything
like
that
that
you
guys
are
doing
over
there
to
you
know,
encourage
them
to
to
sign
up
to
to
participate
in
voting
and
to
to
be
registered
voters
or
or
is
it
even
like
civics
in
schools?
Can
you
can
you
talk
about
what
that
infrastructure
looks
like
in
scotland.
M
Yeah
thanks
counselor,
as
I
said,
there's
a
the
the
education
civics
program
which
has
been
going
on
for
decades
now
and
there's
actually
a
formal
qualification
called
modern
studies
which
is
equal
to
to
some
of
the
other.
You
know
less
to
more
traditional
subjects
like
geography,
history,
english
maths,
so
there's
a
recognized
qualification
that
that
that
would
weigh
with
them
in
getting
into
university
called
modern
studies.
M
So
I
think
that's
been
pretty
important
and
that
ties
in
well
with
with
people
being
allowed
to
vote,
because,
if
they're,
given
all
this
information
about,
you
know
the
political
system
how
to
vote
what
the
institutions
are.
You
know
what
what
the
city
council
does,
for
example,
and
then
they're
not
allowed
to
express
that
through
a
vote.
Then
I
think
that
that's
where
that
disconnect
happens,
yeah
we
do
probably
similar
to
to
in
boston.
M
You
know,
because
these
people
are
getting
services
and
getting
representation
and
and
and
and
stuff,
and
if
they're
not
being
able
to
express
their
their
their
political
will,
then
it's
kind
of
not
really
fair
and
it's
I
don't
know
what
happens
there,
but
certainly
here
it's
the
it's
the
older
people
that
all
go
out
and
vote,
which
is
right
enough,
but
sometimes
there's
conflicts
between
what
an
older,
wealthier
group
of
people
in
a
younger,
less
well
off.
Group
of
people
want
you
know,
and
if
they're
not
expressing
their
vote,
then
it's
always
good.
M
B
Thank
you
councilworld,
and
you
actually
asked,
and
after
that
council
megha,
you
were
first,
you
didn't
get
to
ask
questions
to
our
latest
panel,
so
I'll
go
to
you
after
after
me,
which
will
be
quick
because
council
royale
took
my
question
about
the
schools.
But
I
do
have
one
question
from
mr
sullivan
specifically.
G
M
M
I
think
you
have
to
sign
it,
which
is
which
is
always
the
problem
right,
because
it's
not
as
simple
as
just
going
online
and
doing
it,
and
so
that's
that
that's
a
barrier
I
mean
we
we've
argued
in
the
electoral
reform
society
for
same-day
registration
for
a
long
time-
and
I
heard
you
mention
it
there.
I
think
that's
a
that's!
That's
that's
issue.
That's
a
huge
benefit
to
people,
because
many
people
turn
up
because
they
think
they
can
vote
and
then
they're
going
you've
not
been
registered.
M
You
had
to
register
like
two
three
weeks
before,
and
so
it's
it.
It
is
definitely
a
buyer
yeah.
I
think
the
the
schools
some
depended
on
the
education
authority
area.
Some
of
the
schools
are
more
than
happy
to
encourage
their
pupils
to
vote,
which
was
good
and
then
other
education
authorities
were
less
less
less
willing
to
get
involved
in
in
politics.
M
But
I
think
you
know
the
example
is
a
really
good
example
of
some
of
the
schools
encouraging
people
to
register
and
to
vote
and
reminding
the
pupils
that
they
should
register
and
vote
and
certainly
within
the
universities.
Although
that's
a
slightly
older
group,
there's
there's
big
big
registration
drives.
B
Thank
you
and
it's,
it's
we've
been
fighting
for
same
day,
voting
registration.
I
think
we'd
love
automatic
registration,
it's
funny
to
hear
the
same
problems
in
different
places.
Literally,
we
have
the
same
early
deadline
of
voting
that
makes
very
little
sense,
frankly
in
any
practical
way,
except
that
it
disenfranchises
and
so
trying
to
make
sure
that
I
I
asked
folks
specifically
questions
that
later
on,
I
I'll
they'll
hit
me
and
I'll
say.
B
Oh,
I
should
have
asked
that,
and
I
hate
that,
but
in
terms
of
the
specific,
if-
and
this
is
for
either
mr
klugman
or
our
folks
over
at
mass
vote,
do
we
have
an
idea
of
when
we
get
to
implementation
of
this?
Because
I'm
going
to
will
this
into
existence?
What
what
methods
we
can
use
to
actually
engage
beyond
what
what?
Obviously
scotland
is
doing?
Basically
what
we're
doing
but
other
than
those
things
do
we
have
any
idea?
B
What
kinds
of
things
we
can
do
here
in
boston
specifically
to
engage
our
youth
vote
and
ensure
that
we're
we're
doing
things
right?
I
think
about
and
again
this
is,
I
think,
it's
federal,
but
I
remember
we
had
to
register.
I
believe
it's
like
a
false
registration
for
the
draft,
because
we
no
longer
have
the
draft,
but
I
remember
waiting
to
register
for
the
draft
in
high
school.
I
think
our
high
school
automatically
did
that.
I
don't
know
why.
B
P
So
I'll
jump
in,
I
know
that
we're
already
working
in
the
boston
public
school
system,
like
the
election
advisory
council,
one
of
the
other
commissioners,
is
already
in
there
engaging
high
school
students
we're
doing
voter
registration
drives
during
the
day
time,
while
they're
in
school.
Ever
since
we
implemented
the
early
voting
16
and
17
year
olds,
the
the
capacity
to
register
early
we've
been
going
into
the
school
systems
and
setting
up
tables
during
their
lunch
hours
and
different.
P
You
know
at
their
rallies
or
what
have
you
and
working
with
the
city
council,
the
election
advisory
council,
to
make
sure
that
we're
giving
them
the
opportunity
to
register
and
keeping
that
in
the
file?
One
of
the
things
that
we
started
a
couple
of
years
ago,
kind
of
suspended
it
about
to
bring
it
back.
Was
this
whole
postcard
campaign,
like
once
they're
registered
to
vote
at
age
16?
They
cannot
vote
until
they're
18.
But
what
do
you
do
in
between
you?
Do
things
like
you?
P
Keep
them
engaged
with
projects
and
different
initiatives,
civic
engagement,
kind
of
projects
right,
we
do
a
postcard
and
we
do
this
and
now
you
know
we
call
it
for
the
youth.
We
do
it
for
the
youth,
16
and
17
year
olds,
but
we
also
do
it
for
all
of
our
not
early
our
new
registered
voters
right
like
keeping
them
engaged
because
we'll
register
somebody,
let's
say
now.
This
is
march,
we're
doing
all
of
our
voter
registration.
P
What's
on
ballot
questions,
what
are
ballot
questions?
How
are
they
implementing?
So
I
think
there
are
so
many
ways
that
between
the
agents,
we're
registering
them
16
and
17,
we
have
a
year
to
two
years
to
really
fully
engage
them.
Part
of
that
could
be
going
doing
civics
in
high
school
right
like
making
sure
that
they're
getting
civics
in
high
school
so
that
they
can
understand
the
three
divisions
of
government
yeah.
I
mean
just
all
of
those
kinds
of
educational
tools
to
get
them
excited,
and
I
think
you
know
we.
P
They
think
of
all
these
innovative
ways
and
that's
why
I
love
being
around
young
people
like
you
all,
and
the
seeing
the
high
school
students
right,
they
think
of
different
ways.
Think
outside
of
the
box.
You
know
when
you've
been
doing
this
for
a
long
time.
You
have
a
set
way
in
which
you
think
things
should
be
done.
Young
people
come
along
and
they
think
creatively
and
they
think
outside
of
the
box
or
how
we
can
engage
them
in
other
ways
to
engage
their
counterparts.
N
Yeah
and
just
to
add
to
that,
I
think
we'll
also,
you
know
what
having
young
people
involved
in
the
voting
process,
I
think
will
also
require
you,
know
the
city
council
and,
like
all
municipal
government,
to
be
more
active
and
visible
in
the
schools.
So
thinking
about
you
know,
how
are
you
making
the
hearings
more
accessible
so
that
young
people
can
not
only
vote
but
also
engage
in
the
in
municipal
in
the
governance
process
as
well?
You
know
having
students
in
a
school
building,
you
know
it
it
oftentimes.
P
To
say
what
was
really
successful
was
the
participatory,
the
budget
participatory
project
right
like
really
getting
young
people
involved,
and
they
loved
that
right,
like
feeling
like
their
voices,
were
being
heard
for
monies
that
were
going
to
be
spent
on
them
anyway
or
in
our
communities.
How
could
they
lend
a
voice
to
how
it
should
be
spent?
I
thought
that
was
an
excellent
thing
when
we
did
that
and
that's
the
same
kind
of
engaging
activities
that
we
need
to
do
with
our
youth.
B
Thank
you
and
I
I
I
think,
that's
an
important
aspect
of
democracy.
In
general,
I've
found
that
people
become
more
engaged
and
they
feel
like
they
are
actually
being
heard,
and
so
certainly
with
youth,
where
there
is
no
specifically
under
18,
where
there's
no
mechanism
for
them
to
actually
have
their
voice
be
heard.
I
think
there
is
even
more
of
a
disconnect
there.
I
am.
I
am
just
grateful
to
all
of
you
for
being
here.
I
am
done
with
my
questions.
B
C
Yeah,
thank
you
and
thank
you
again,
mr
solomon,
for
joining
us.
I
also
love
the
accent.
It
brings
me
great
joy
as
a
english
language
learner
from
the
dominican
republic.
It's
always
great
to
hear
different
accents,
especially
on
our
zoom
calls.
So
first,
thank
you
for
for
being
here.
You
know
I
just
have
a
quick
follow-up
question.
You
know
one
of
the
reasons
why
I'm
so
deeply
committed
to
civic
engagement
and
youth
participation
is
for
those
who
you
me.
C
You
may
not
know
this,
but
I
won
my
election
in
2019
by
one
single
vote.
Votes
and
I've
dedicated
my
entire
life
to
working
with
young
people
and
have
often
felt
that
those
who
are,
as
our
congresswoman
ianna
presley
says,
closest
to
the
pain
should
be
closest
to
the
power
we
believe
those
who
are
living.
C
My
question
is
specifically
around
kind
of
like
if
you
could
just
share
with
us
some
of
the
pushback
that
you
potentially
faced
when
you
were
going
through
this
process
from
some
folks,
because
I
know
here
in
the
city
of
boston,
we've
heard
a
lot
from
folks
that
they
don't
think
that
young
people
are
ready,
that
they
don't
have
the
maturity
and
an
ability
to
really
take
on
such
a
big
responsibility.
But
yet
they're
working
two
to
three
jobs:
to
put
food
on
the
table.
C
They're,
you
know
they
are
able
to
get
their
driver's
license.
They're,
paying
taxes
they're
doing
all
of
these
things
that
often
some
adults
struggle
to
do.
To
be
honest
with
you.
So
I'm
just
curious,
like
what
type
of
narrative
did
you
face
as
you
work
towards
pushing
your
initiative
forward
in
any
particular
language
that
you
can
share
with
us,
so
that
we
can
counteract
some
of
that
naysayer
syndrome
that
we
find
ourselves
oftentimes
having
to
deal
with
here
in
the
city
of
boston.
M
I
think
the
the
as
I
said
when
you
did
the
public
polling
before
it
was
good
that
the
political
parties
pushed
it
through.
Not
all
of
them
were
in
favor
of
it,
and
there
was
a
lot
of
politicians
that
went,
but
I
think
finding
finding
the
right
spokes
people
from
that
cadre
of
people
16
17
year
olds,
who
are
able
to
quite
easily.
You
know,
show
that
they're
they're
up
to
and
they
have
interests,
and
I
think
that
is
one
of
the
key
arguments
as
well.
M
And
so,
but
I
do
think,
the
actual
operation
of
the
of
the
campaign
and
the
debate
when
those
voices
were
heard
kind
of
to
put
to
bed
those
questions
that
they
are
not
capable
or
not,
able
or
not
experienced
enough
or
don't
deserve
it.
I
just
think
that,
and-
and
the
public
polling
showed
that
afterwards,
that
it
just
completely
switched.
M
I
think
I
I
think
it
was
it's
always
better
to
show
than
tell
isn't
it
so
if
you've
got
young
people
up
there,
who
are
you
who
are
telling
you
why
they
should
have
that
vote
and
and
then
showing
you
know
that
they
get
the
political
issues
from
their
perspective
and
they
can
argue
for
it.
I
think
that's,
probably
the
most
powerful
message
you
can
have
and
and
the
arguments
that
you
you
used.
You
know
examples
of
people
who
are
working,
two
jobs
who
are
paying
taxes.
M
Yeah,
so
it's
it
kind
of
all
those
arguments
about
other
things
that
the
state
expects
of
you
when
you're,
when
you're,
16
and
17,
but
isn't
willing
to
give
you
a
vote.
I
think
it's
quite
a
along
with
the
with
the
with
with
the
examples
of
of
of
people.
You
know
very,
very
well
informed
and
16
17
year
olds
is
probably
the
most
powerful
way
to
do
it.
C
Yeah,
no,
I
just
wanted
to
thank
all
the
panelists,
the
young
people
that
showed
up
the
advocates,
our
friend
from
scotland,
and
I
hope,
those
who
are
tuning
in
recognize
the
power
of
youth
and
trust
this
process
and
continue
to
stay
engaged
with
us.
So
thank
you
to
the
panelists,
thank
you
to
the
chair
and
thank
you
to
my
co-sponsor
counselor
bach,
for
joining
our
office
in
this
fight
and
making
sure
that
we
create
space
for
young
people
to
not
only
be
seen
and
heard,
but
to
be
respected
and
valued.
Thank
you.
D
Yeah,
I
want
to
echo
the
thanks,
thanks
to
counselor
mejia,
for
co-sponsoring
on
this
and
all
the
counselors
who
showed
up
and
expressed
their
support
and
a
special
thanks
to
all
of
our
panelists.
I
I
think
I
just
really
want
to
underscore
that
you
know
it
was.
It
was
something
that
willie
raised.
I
think
you
know.
Sometimes
we
talk
about
engaging
young
people
like
it's
sort
of
like
a
nice
to
have,
or
you
know
when
that,
but
like
really
when
we
talk
about
representative
government
and
we
think
about
that
question
of
you
know.
D
D
So
I
I
hope
that
in
this
conversation,
we
can
create
more
of
those
opportunities
and
I'm
grateful
to
nasaj
for
joining
us
today.
Mr
sullivan,
you,
you
missed
one
of
our
spokespeople
who
was
here
earlier
beaming
in
from
a
free
period
in
high
school,
and
I
think
that-
and
I
take
I
take
vanessa's
point
about
when
it
is
that
we
hold
these
hearings
and
kind
of
how
how
we
try
to
actually
actively
make
space
for
young
people
to
engage
given
the
structure
of
their
days
and
and
lives.
D
B
Both
I
appreciate
all
of
our
advocates
for
being
here
and
all
the
administration
for
giving
their
time
and
all
the
counselors
who
came.
We
almost
had
a
full
house
up
for
this
issue.
We
will
be
moving
forward
with
a
working
session
once
once
we're
able
to
schedule
that
to
move
this
forward.
I
expect
this
will
go
forward
this
year
and
I'm
grateful
to
everybody
for
their
their
work
on
this.
B
So
with
that,
this
meeting
is
adjourned,
and
I
just
want
to
thank
central
staff
for
as
always
being
the
folks
who
make
all
this
possible
and
juggling
all
the
things
that
they
juggle.
So
thank
you
very
much
central
staff
today
it
was
kerry.
Yesterday
was
candace,
and
so
thank
you
very
much.
Everybody.