WASHINGTON, DC — As the nation looks ahead to the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, Children’s Defense Fund Action (CDF Action) has officially launched a major nonpartisan initiative designed to fundamentally reshape how adults approach the ballot box. Entitled the "Voting Rights are Children’s Rights" campaign, the grassroots effort is built upon a striking and sobering premise: while children cannot vote, every single law, policy, and budget that shapes, protects, or restricts their lives is written and enacted entirely by adults who can.
The campaign, spearheaded by the grassroots lobbying and advocacy arm of the national Children’s Defense Fund, seeks to encourage the nation’s eligible voters to consciously and deliberately center the interests of America’s children and young people when casting their ballots. By bridging the gap between civic participation and youth advocacy, CDF Action aims to ensure that the silent constituency of children nationwide has a powerful, protective proxy voice during elections.
Ahead of the midterm elections, the campaign is actively equipping parents, caregivers, faith leaders, congregations, and young voters with a robust suite of resources designed to help them educate themselves, prioritize child welfare, and seamlessly include children in their voting routines. The newly released materials include comprehensive voter action guides, direct voter registration instructions, and practical, creative strategies for involving children directly in family voting plans. These resources also provide guidance on how adults can engage children in meaningful discussions about their choices at the polls afterward, helping to foster an early and enduring culture of civic engagement.
As part of the nationwide rollout, CDF Action is calling upon its extensive network of CDF Freedom Schools® partner sites to host "Read Aloud for Democracy" experiences at or near early voting centers across the country. Scheduled for October 17, these community-focused events will bring parents and children together to read literature in shared public spaces before heading into the voting centers together. In states where early voting has already commenced, these gatherings are designed to give families a tangible, shared experience of participating in the democratic process.
The philosophical backbone of the campaign was underscored recently by CDF Action President and CEO Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson during a passionate speech delivered to the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Dr. Wilson emphasized the critical importance of allowing children to witness the voting process firsthand, urging all eligible voters who have children in their lives to not only keep youth welfare in mind at the ballot box, but to take young people along with them to the polls.
“We don’t believe we can wait until they’re 18 to suggest that they vote. We have to bring them up in a culture of civic engagement by modeling voting, by taking them with us,” Dr. Wilson told the assembly. He also pointed to the broader political landscape, stressing the vital necessity of ongoing election protection work. “We also understand the election protection work that must happen this year. There must be a moral confrontation at the polls that demonstrates the realities of the challenges of those who would seek to send others to the polls to keep us from there. That they’re really keeping the voices of our children from being heard.”
The urgency of the "Voting Rights are Children’s Rights" campaign is further amplified by what leadership describes as a continuous series of direct and indirect assaults on civic participation and public infrastructure. Brittany Packnett Cunningham, CDF Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, highlighted the intersection of child advocacy and voting rights advocacy, particularly in the wake of significant legal setbacks such as the U.S. Supreme Court’s April decision in Louisiana v. Callais.
“We are clear at CDF Action that voting rights are children’s rights,” Packnett Cunningham stated forcefully. “Every school that gets shuttered was a vote. Every lunch line that gets cut was a vote. Every hospital that closes in a rural county or an urban core, where a Black mother is trying to deliver a healthy baby, was a vote. You cannot say that you love children and stay silent while the vote is being strangled. These are the same fight.”
In alignment with these principles, CDF Action is urging voters to focus heavily on structural reforms that protect and expand access to the ballot box, reform the nation’s court system, and hold systemic corruption accountable. Furthermore, the organization remains steadfastly committed to ensuring that the next generation of Americans is fully equipped to vote, volunteer, and lift their voices in public life. This long-term commitment includes advocacy efforts aimed at lowering the federal voting age to 16 years old, a step leadership argues is necessary to expand young people’s direct access to influencing the policy decisions that profoundly impact their day-to-day lives.
Founded originally in 1969 as the Washington Research Project Action Council, CDF Action continues to work through grassroots lobbying in Congress and statehouses to advance child-centered policies while holding elected officials publicly accountable. Through initiatives like its signature nonpartisan Legislative Report Card, the organization seeks to inform the American public about how lawmakers act on issues directly affecting the well-being of the nation’s youth. With the launch of the "Voting Rights are Children’s Rights" campaign, CDF Action is broadcasting a clear message to the American electorate: protecting democracy and protecting children are inextricably linked missions.
