Why Voting Rights Are Children’s Rights
Children can’t vote, but every election helps shape the world they grow up in. From the classrooms where they learn to the care and support their families receive, decisions made by elected officials have a lasting impact on children’s lives. Voting and protecting voting rights is one way adults can help ensure children’s needs are heard, represented, and prioritized.
This connection is rooted in the history of the Civil Rights Movement and the ongoing struggle to ensure that every eligible voter has a meaningful opportunity to participate in our democracy. And for Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), that history is central to our mission.
CDF Founder and President emerita Marian Wright Edelman began her career as a civil rights lawyer in Mississippi, defending civil rights activists and working to address the injustices facing Black communities. Her experience in the movement helped shape her understanding that children’s lives cannot be separated from the conditions of their families and communities. She founded CDF in 1973 to advocate for children, particularly those living in poverty, and to challenge policies and systems that deny children the opportunity to thrive.
More than 60 years since Edelman and other young activists took to Mississippi for the intergenerational voting rights movement we now know as the 1964 Freedom Summer Project, the struggle for voting rights remains unfinished. From the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to Supreme Court decisions over the last several years that have eviscerated key protections against racial discrimination in voting, the history of voting rights is a reminder that progress is not guaranteed.
As the 2026 midterm elections approach, we must recognize what’s at stake for children when eligible voters face barriers to participation, and communities have fewer protections against the dilution of their voting power. Children may not yet have a vote of their own, but their futures are shaped by the people who do.
How Voting Rights Protections Have Been Weakened
Despite decades of progress, important protections against racial discrimination in voting have been weakened through court decisions and ongoing legal challenges.
In 2013, the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder invalidated the formula used to determine which jurisdictions were required to obtain federal approval before changing their voting laws under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. This requirement, known as preclearance, had served as a preventive safeguard against discriminatory voting changes. The decision removed that safeguard for jurisdictions covered by the invalidated formula. It did not eliminate the Voting Rights Act or invalidate Section 2, which continues to prohibit racial discrimination in voting.
More recently, on April 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled in Louisiana v. Callais, a case involving Louisiana’s congressional district map and the Voting Rights Act. The Court held that Louisiana’s map, which included a second majority-Black congressional district, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the circumstances of the case. The Court concluded that Section 2 did not require that district under its interpretation of the law. The ruling narrowed the circumstances in which Section 2 can be used to challenge racial vote dilution in redistricting.
The impact of these legal and political battles can be seen in states across the country. Before the Callais decision, Texas, California, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio changed, or pursued changes, to their congressional maps ahead of the 2026 elections. After the April 2026 ruling, Louisiana adopted a new map that eliminated one of its two majority-Black congressional districts. Florida and Tennessee also adopted new congressional maps, while Alabama returned to using its 2023 map in June 2026. These changes can affect whether communities, particularly communities of color, have a fair opportunity to elect representatives who reflect their voices and interests. When communities have less representation, their concerns, including those affecting children and families, may have a harder time being heard in decisions about schools, healthcare, and other essential resources.
These changes show how decisions about voting laws and congressional maps can shape whose voices are heard in government. Together, Shelby County v. Holder and Louisiana v. Callais illustrate how legal protections intended to guard against racial discrimination in voting can be weakened or narrowed. The consequences extend beyond election administration. They affect how communities are represented, whose concerns receive attention, and who has an opportunity to influence public decisions.
How Voting Rights Shape Children’s Futures
Children cannot vote, but they depend on adults and public institutions to make decisions that support their well-being. The policies shaped by elected officials influence nearly every aspect of their lives.
Consider the decisions that affect whether children have access to well-resourced schools, affordable healthcare, nutritious meals, safe housing, and the support their families need. These decisions are made at every level of government, from local school boards to state legislatures and Congress.
When voting rights are protected, eligible voters have greater opportunities to participate in choosing their representatives and shaping public priorities. When protections against racial discrimination are weakened, communities can face greater challenges in ensuring their voices are heard and their interests represented.
This matters particularly as the nation’s child population becomes increasingly racially and ethnically diverse, with children of color making up a growing share of the next generation. Yet communities that have historically faced racial discrimination continue to encounter barriers to political participation. When voting protections are weakened and electoral maps limit communities’ ability to elect representatives of their choice, children in those communities can be left with less representation before they are even old enough to vote or challenge those decisions themselves. Children depend on adults to participate in democracy and advocate for policies that reflect their needs, protect their rights, and support their futures.
Voting rights are not a separate issue from children’s rights. Although children don’t have an independent legal right to vote before they reach voting age, their well-being and future are affected by what’s on the ballot before they can coo, babble, walk, or learn how to drive. Whether eligible adults can exercise their voting rights and whether communities have a meaningful opportunity to elect representatives of their choice are critical to children’s well-being.
Protecting voting rights does not guarantee that elected officials will make decisions that benefit every child. But ensuring that eligible voters can participate meaningfully in elections is an important part of equipping families and communities to advocate for the children who depend on them.
Vote With Children in Mind
As the final days of early voting pass in many states and the nation approaches Election Day on November 3, 2026, we must consider more than the candidates and issues immediately before us. We must also consider how our choices will shape the world our children inherit.
Voting with children in mind means learning about the issues on your ballot, understanding the responsibilities of elected offices, and considering how a candidate’s stated positions and public policies may affect children and families. It means looking beyond national elections to state and local races that influence schools, community resources, and essential services.
It also means helping children understand democracy before they are old enough to vote. Parents, caregivers, educators, faith leaders, and community members can create opportunities for children to learn how decisions are made, ask questions about their communities, and recognize the importance of civic participation.
CDF Action’s Voting Rights Are Children’s Rights campaign offers nonpartisan resources to help voters prepare for elections and help families and communities center children in civic engagement.
Children may not be able to cast a ballot today, but their futures are on the ballot in the decisions adults make. When voting rights are weakened, the ability of families and communities to advocate for children can be weakened, too.
Protecting voting rights is a part of protecting children’s futures. This election, and every election, vote with children in mind.