16-Year-Old Students Can Now Be Delegates to the Democratic State Convention in Massachusetts
Successful advocacy of the Massachusetts High School Democrats
By Rianna Mukherjee
The Progressive Teen Contributor
RECENTLY, THE MASSACHUSETTS HIGH SCHOOL DEMOCRATS (MAHSD) worked alongside the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee (MDSC) to pass a measure that would give sixteen-year-old students the opportunity to become delegates to the annual state convention. This measure could yield greater youth participation among Democratic voters and inspire other state Democratic parties to follow.
The measure was officially proposed by two of the MAHSD Adult Advisory Board members, Kate Donaghue and Dan Kelly. As the first step to getting the measure approved, both advisors suggested that the measure be brought up during an upcoming Democratic State Party Rules Committee meeting, where the rules would be determined for the next convention. Rules Committee member Kate Donaghue presented the proposal. She also encouraged that a member of MAHSD speak at the meeting stating that she is “… a firm believer in the student-run, student-led philosophy.” Following Donaghues’s presentation, Nate LaPointe, an active member of MAHSD and a junior at West Springfield High School, explained that this proposal would not give youth special privileges as they would have to run to be a delegate the same way as anyone else, but would give well-informed and passionate youth the opportunity to represent others and vote in the Democratic party. Now eligible to run for delegate, LaPointe has worked on many campaigns, striving to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. This opportunity will give him and many other students a chance to participate in the party that they have supported. The proposal passed unanimously.
On February 4, 2019, the DSC voted on the proposal once more. It passed unanimously.
Anjali Ramakrishnan, the MAHSD Political & Field Director who helped write the proposal in its early stages, noted that “…having a say in who we elect is really important…” because youth are directly impacted by laws too. Amanda Westlake, the MAHSD Chair, also vocalized that giving students real opportunities to get involved in politics when they are young will lead to a more politically engaged body of voters overall.
MAHSD would like to thank Chairman Bickford, Rules Committee Chairman Eddy, the members of the Rules Committee and the DSC, Kate Donaghue, and Dan Kelly for supporting youth engagement in politics. The passage of this proposal would have not been possible without all these individuals.
*If any young people read this and are interested in trying to change or re-write the rules of their state party, Kate has some advice:
- Find out what rules are in place now and who is eligible to run. Can the language be easily changed to incorporate youth? It is important that you know what your party’s documents say before you ask others for help. If you can not find it on your state party’s website, can you ask your Democratic state committee to publish it?
- Is there pre-registration in your state? (In Massachusetts, legislation was passed in 2017 that allows individuals who are 16 years or older to pre-register to vote, meaning that they can chose party affiliation earlier. Thus, those who are pre-registered to vote as a Democrat are now eligible to run to be a delegate to the State Convention.)
- Reach out to adults and ask for help from those who know how the process works. Additionally, find out the dates of your Democratic state committee’s next Rules Committee Meeting and next full committee meeting, where you can present the proposal.
