The Oakland City Council voted unanimously at its Tuesday meeting to place an Oakland Youth Vote measure on the November ballot, which would give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in Board of Education elections.

“Allowing young adults to have a vote in elections directly impacting them helps improve the responsiveness of these governmental roles, and helps build empowered community members, with practical knowledge and skillset to make a change in their community through the democratic process,” said Council President Rebecca Kaplan, who introduced the ballot measure to add an amendment to the Charter of the City of Oakland.

Kaplan emphasized that many youth organizations and others on the City Council have joined together to support the measure.

Student leaders from Oakland Kids First, All City Council Student Union, and organizations from the Oakland Youth Vote Coalition launched Oakland Youth Vote to strengthen youth voices and expand their role in improving the education system.

This will help us get more youth and young adults more civically engaged” said Denilson Garibo, Oakland school board student director.