by Haley Sheriff |

Each year, in the midst of the politically charged atmosphere of autumn, AP Government students are always bustling about, completing some kind of project involving the process of their government. During election years, students are required to campaign for a minimum of five hours for the party of their choice; however, as 2011 was not an election year, that option was not available. Liberty and Liberty North students, therefore, have been given a year-long task of lowering the voting age to 17 years old for primary elections.
“We like to have students involved, to understand and experience the intricacies of government themselves. But as this was a non-election year, we needed to find another way, and I always had this idea in the back of my mind seeing other states complete it successfully,” AP Government teacher Kurt Gates said. “While in Jefferson City, I happened to see State Representative Myron Neth, and after suggesting the idea to him, he was very supportive.”
This concept is certainly not new. In the past decade, 17 states have given 17-year-olds the right to vote in primary elections if they will be 18 by the time of the general election.
For the first semester, students have been researching these states and the impact the bills have caused since their ratification. They have then incorporated this information as evidence in each of their essays to back their stance.
“Already this year, we have come together to write legislation to propose to our state representative,” junior Lydia Davis said. “From there we will take the best written drafts and combine them into a single legislation that best reflects what we want to accomplish.”
Students hope to introduce the bill by December, and by then classes will begin to focus on lobbying. During the second semester, students will expand the project to a statewide endeavor by writing letters and calling other schools, attempting to strengthen their efforts with more involvement. Most are very optimistic and passionate about the proposal.
“There are so many 17-year-old high school students that are more informed than adults, and there are a lot of decisions that can directly affect them,” junior Emily Duncan said. “A lot of them have jobs and even pay taxes, and they play such a significant role in society that they should have an equally significant voice.”
With a natural skepticism of government, along with the work of such a large and rather daunting project, some doubt the outcome of the bill.
“It’s a good project with a primary goal to educate us, but personally I have no confidence in an AP Government class being able to accomplish this.

It’s all a question of Congress, and from there it’s out of our hands,” junior Max Accardi said. “Though the bill itself is reasonable, I think the idea will inspire much opposition for opposition’s sake.”
The project itself will be passed on to next year’s batch of AP Government students, who will then work towards placing the bill on the ballot and its ultimate ratification. Some however, are dismayed that after all the time and work they put into the cause, they will not be the ones to get it finalized.
“They shouldn’t be upset—they’re the ones that got the ball rolling,” AP Government teacher Ron Ludwig said. “Without their hard work, [this project] wouldn’t have happened at all.”