Vote16USA Multimedia Storytelling Contest

The contest is now closed. Thank you to all who submitted! Winners will be announced on June 30, 2020. 

WHAT: The movement to lower the voting age to 16 is growing, and young people across the country all have different views on why it is a good idea. We want to hear from YOU. Why do you believe in 16-year-old voting? Answer that question, from your perspective and in your favorite format, and you can win a Visa gift card from Vote16USA.  

  • First place: $300
  • Second place: $200
  • Third place: $100
  • Honorable mentions (6 awardees): $50 

WHO: Students ages 14-17, residing in the United States, are eligible to enter the contest. 

WHEN: Submissions will be accepted until June 5, 2020 (11:59 PM PT).

the details

Project Format Options

Share your answer to this question in a format of your choice. Accepted formats include the following, but if you have a creative idea that is not listed here, email us!  – Video: This could be a simple video of yourself talking about lowering the voting age, or an edited video that uses clips from multiple sources, or even a TikTok. Videos should be between 30 seconds – 3 minutes. – Writing: Write an essay or an article on why we should lower the voting age. It should be no more than 600 words. – Audio: Record a speech, sing an original song, make a commercial, or do something else in the audio format. Audio should be between 30 seconds – 3 minutes.  – Visual: Create a piece of visual art such as a poster, mural, graphic, or a banner. Please share it with us digitally, whether that means taking a photo of a physical work or sharing a digital file.

additional contest rules

– One submission per person. – Group submissions are allowed, but you need to designate one person as the point of contact, and if you win, the prize will be given to that one person and it will be up to you to split it among yourselves. All participants in the group must fit the eligibility criteria. – Current and former Vote16USA Youth Advisory Board and Generation Citizen Student Leadership Board members are not eligible to enter. – Participants must fill out the consent and release form at the bottom of this page, complete with parent signature, to allow Vote16USA to share out your great work!

Scoring

Members of the Vote16USA Youth Advisory Board will serve as judges for the contest. Submissions will be scored in these categories: 1. Originality: How new or unique is the argument or perspective presented? 2. Clarity: How clearly is the argument or perspective presented? 3. Effectiveness: How impactful or persuasive in the argument or perspective?

Background info on lowering the voting age

We encourage you to do your own research on the topic and think about it from your own personal perspective. To get you started, though, here are some links that might be helpful: Vote16USA White Paper Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) speech Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) interviews (and there’s even more info on our resources page!)