Wakefield Youth Council updates public forum plans and outreach for municipal voting-age reduction initiative

The Wakefield Youth Council on June 15 heard status updates on a municipal voting-age reduction initiative and plans to engage the public.

The Chair said a press-release draft is underway and that an introduction email linking Youth Council members to WCAT had been sent so the parties could plan a public forum. "I saw that W-CAT responded and they were super amenable to this and open and supportive and would love to be involved," the Chair reported to the Council.

Ellie Pritchard said the project’s one-page summary has already been posted to the Youth Council’s social media: "Yes, that has been completed and posted on uh our social media as uh I think about a month ago." Council members said the one-pager and a planned press release would help publicize the initiative and any upcoming forum.

Members discussed outreach to local middle schools to recruit new Youth Council members and to involve students in civics-project timelines. The Chair described a plan to send materials to eighth-grade teachers and asked teachers to recommend interested students; Nathaniel Chimes and other members said timing logistics make an in-person school visit difficult before the end of the term, so the Council will follow up in the fall if slots remain unfilled.

No formal vote or town-council action on changing the municipal voting age was taken at the meeting. The Council’s next steps described on June 15 were to finalize the press-release draft, coordinate timing with WCAT for a public forum, and continue outreach to middle-school teachers for recruitment.

The Council did not set a date for a public forum during the June 15 meeting.