by Bob Fireovid
You likely know that the Vermont House passed a bill (H.361) to allow 16-year-olds in Brattleboro to vote in municipal elections and to serve on town boards. Crazy? Well, our beloved (not!) Congressman Peter Welch recently gave his support to a federal bill that would allow 16-year-olds across the whole country to vote. What the??
Looking back, I have to you say that all the 16-year-old teenagers in my world, including my kids and myself, were clueless – clueless about what it takes to be wholly responsible for my own welfare, let alone be responsible for the welfare of everyone in my community.
BUT the majority of House members seem to think they can make whatever law they want without much concern about what the Vermont Constitution requires. Oh, and in spite of having taken an oath to “…not propose, or assent to, any bill, vote or resolution, which shall appear to you injurious to the people, nor do nor consent to any act or thing whatever, that shall have a tendency to lessen or abridge their rights and privileges, as declared by the Constitution of this State…” Uh, giving voting privileges to 16 and 17 year-olds dilutes the voting rights of those 18 and older.
We’ve had it and are circulating an online petition calling out this unConstitutional bill. You can read and sign the petition at this link…https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/declaring-a-vermont-bill-un-constitutional.
Please sign this petition TODAY as the Senate will likely act on this bill very quickly and send it to Gov. Scott. If you cannot sign today, please sign it ASAP! Also, please forward this email ASAP to as many people as you can.
Note: If you do not want to get occasional emails from iPetition, you should uncheck the box labeled “Keep me informed on this and similar petitions.” But even if a signer doesn’t uncheck this box, they can send iPetitions an email asking to unsubscribe. For more information about iPetitions, go to https://www.ipetitions.com/faq.
Remember, as our State Constitution says, the government serves you…”That all power being originally inherent in and co[n]sequently derived from the people, therefore, all officers of government, whether legislative or executive, are their trustees and servants; and at all times, in a legal way, accountable to them.”
So make them hear your voice!
The author is a South Hero resident.