(Oct. 13, 2026) — As the United States looks toward the pivotal 2026 midterm elections, the grassroots lobbying and advocacy arm of the national Children’s Defense Fund has stepped forward with a profound reminder for the American electorate: while children are legally barred from casting a ballot, every law, budget, and policy that shapes their daily lives is written by adults who can.
Children’s Defense Fund Action (CDF Action) officially launched its nationwide initiative, titled "Voting Rights are Children’s Rights," with a clear, nonpartisan objective. The campaign is designed to encourage the nation’s eligible voters to consciously and deliberately consider the interests, futures, and well-being of all American children and young people when they step into the voting booth or mail in their ballots.
The nationwide push comes at a critical juncture for American democracy and child advocacy. Ahead of the upcoming midterms, CDF Action is actively equipping parents, caregivers, faith leaders, congregations, and young voters with a robust suite of resources designed to help eligible adults educate themselves, prioritize child welfare, and directly include children in the voting process. Among the materials provided through the initiative are comprehensive voter action guides, clear registration instructions, and practical, engaging strategies for involving children in a family voting plan, as well as initiating meaningful post-vote discussions about civic choices and values.
To bridge the gap between civic participation and youth visibility, CDF Action is also calling on CDF Freedom Schools® partner sites across the country to host "Read Aloud for Democracy" experiences. Scheduled to take place at or near early voting centers nationwide on October 17, these events invite parents and children to read together before heading into nearby voting centers. In states where early voting has already commenced, the initiative offers families a tangible way to model civic duty together, ensuring that children witness democracy in action firsthand.
The philosophical backbone of the campaign centers on early and continuous civic integration. In a recent, powerful address delivered to the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., CDF Action President and CEO Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson emphasized that adults cannot afford to wait until young people turn 18 to suggest that participation in democracy matters. Instead, he argued, communities must actively bring up the next generation within a living culture of civic engagement by transparently modeling voting behavior and bringing children along 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 stated during his address. He further addressed the broader political landscape surrounding access to the ballot, highlighting the urgency of 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."
This sentiment was further amplified by Brittany Packnett Cunningham, CDF Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, who articulated the direct and inescapable link between systemic policy decisions and the ballot box. Packnett Cunningham emphasized the vital importance of the "Voting Rights are Children’s Rights" campaign against the backdrop of recent, high-profile attacks on voting rights nationwide, such as the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais.
"We are clear at CDF Action that voting rights are children’s rights. 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," Packnett Cunningham declared.
In tandem with encouraging child-centered voting habits, CDF Action’s broader platform urges voters to concentrate on critical structural reforms. These include actively expanding voting rights, reforming the nation’s court system, and demanding accountability for corruption at all levels of government. Furthermore, the organization maintains a steadfast commitment to ensuring that young people are fully equipped not only to vote, but also to volunteer and lift their voices effectively in public life. As part of this forward-looking vision, CDF Action supports initiatives aimed at lowering the federal voting age to 16, a move intended to expand young people’s direct access to influencing the legislative and executive decisions that directly impact their schooling, health, and futures.
Founded in 1969 as the Washington Research Project Action Council, CDF Action continues its decades-long mission to advance child well-being through grassroots lobbying, rigorous advocacy in Congress and statehouses across the country, and holding elected officials publicly accountable for supporting child-centered policies. Through nonpartisan tools such as its signature Legislative Report Card, the organization informs the American public regarding the legislative activity of members of Congress on a wide range of issues affecting children. Guided by its Policy Council as a registered 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, CDF Action hopes that the "Voting Rights are Children’s Rights" campaign will redefine how America views the ballot, framing every vote not merely as an individual right, but as a collective obligation to the nation’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens.
