WASHINGTON, DC — As the nation looks ahead to the crucial upcoming midterm elections, Children’s Defense Fund Action (CDF Action)—the grassroots lobbying and advocacy arm of the national advocacy organization Children’s Defense Fund—has officially launched a major nonpartisan initiative designed to reshape how adults approach the ballot box. Entitled the "Voting Rights are Children’s Rights" campaign, the national effort is built upon a fundamental and urgent premise: while children are legally barred from voting, every single law, budget, policy, and mandate that shapes their daily lives, health, education, and futures is written and enacted by adults who can.
The campaign aims to remind American voters from all walks of life that civic participation carries a profound generational responsibility. By equipping parents, caregivers, faith leaders, congregations, and young voters with comprehensive resources, CDF Action is seeking to encourage eligible adults to actively educate themselves, prioritize the needs of youth, and intentionally include children in their voting plans. The newly released materials include detailed voter action guides, clear registration instructions, and practical strategies designed to help families involve children in discussions about civic participation and talk through election choices afterward.
As part of the rollout, CDF Action is calling on its network of CDF Freedom Schools® partner sites to host special "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 before heading into the voting centers to participate directly in the democratic process in states where early voting is already underway. Organization leaders emphasize that witnessing democracy in action is a critical step in raising civically engaged generations.
In a recent address delivered to the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., CDF Action President and CEO Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson underscored the necessity of bringing young people directly into the voting experience. He urged all eligible voters who have children in their lives to cast their ballots with the future of those children firmly in mind, and whenever possible, to bring them along to the polls so they can observe and understand the process firsthand.
Reflecting on the importance of modeling civic engagement early, Dr. Wilson noted that society cannot simply wait until young people turn 18 to suggest that they become active participants in democracy. Instead, he argued, communities must cultivate a culture of civic participation by demonstrating it through action. He also addressed the broader political landscape, pointing to the necessity of election protection work and describing the current moment as requiring a moral confrontation at the polls to counter efforts that seek to suppress voter turnout—efforts that he contends ultimately work to silence the voices of America’s children.
Echoing these sentiments, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, CDF Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, emphasized that the "Voting Rights are Children’s Rights" campaign is more critical than ever in the wake of recent legal and political attacks on voting access. She specifically pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, warning that the systematic erosion of voting rights directly harms vulnerable communities and, by extension, the children who depend on them.
Packnett Cunningham stressed that civil rights and child advocacy are inextricably linked, arguing that public policy decisions made at the ballot box have immediate, tangible consequences for children’s lives. Every school that faces closure, every school lunch program that experiences funding cuts, and every healthcare facility that shutters in a rural county or an urban core—where a mother might be trying to deliver a healthy baby—is the direct result of a vote cast or a vote suppressed. Consequently, she maintained that individuals cannot claim to advocate for the well-being of children while remaining silent as voting access is restricted, framing these issues as two fronts in the exact same fight.
Beyond the immediate midterm elections, the campaign urges voters to focus heavily on structural reforms, including expanding voting rights protections, reforming the nation’s court system, and holding institutional corruption accountable. Furthermore, CDF Action remains firmly committed to ensuring that the next generation of Americans is fully equipped to vote, volunteer, and make their voices heard in public life. This long-term commitment includes advocating for policy changes such as lowering the federal voting age to 16, a step the organization believes would expand young people’s rightful access to influence the governmental decisions that directly impact their communities and their futures.
