Sen. Mickey SWITALSKI (D-Roseville) wants to amend the state constitution so 16-year-olds can vote for school board members, a proposal he admits probably won't go very far very fast, but is worth a shot in recognition of the efforts of his younger constituents.
If adopted by two-thirds of the House and Senate, Michigan voters could give more high school students the right to vote in school board elections. They could not vote for ballot initiatives, statewide office, federal office or bond issues.
"What better way to have students lean about democracy and government than to allow them to directly participate in its most important element, that of voting," Switalski said.
Switalski is very aware of the challenge ahead of him. People will wonder why kids should vote when they don't contribute to the tax system. The cost of a unique ballot for each election may also raise eyebrows, which is why Switalski wanted to start with a school board-only policy rather than extending all voting rights.
Switalski said letting students vote in these elections would increase voter turnout for school board elections, which generally draw less than 10 percent of the population.
"More adults will vote if they knew their kids could out-vote them," Switalski said.
Switalski said this would also encourage students to vote.
However, Switalski doesn't have any data showing this would actually work. If passed, Michigan would be the only state in the country to let 16-year-olds vote in these elections.
California considered a proposal that would give kids a vote on a sliding scale. For example, a 16-year-old might count as half a vote while a 15-year-old's vote might count for a quarter of a vote. Some regions in some countries including Switzerland and Germany have passed similar voting laws.
"I think it will be very tough to get it done," he said. "It will be difficult to handle because nobody wants to change the system."