Municipal Elections Youth Justice Voter Guide

Each year, thousands of young people in Massachusetts come in contact with the legal system. These young people are disproportionately children of color, children from the child welfare system, children coming from areas of concentrated poverty, and LGBTQ children. While many of the laws impacting children and youth are at the state and federal level, young people’s lives are most impacted by decisions in their own communities – their schools, neighborhoods, and towns/cities. These include decisions around policing, housing, parks, youth jobs and even transportation. Local elected officials – mayors, city councilors, and school committee members – all have a say on where local resources will prioritized and how much or how little support the city or town will provide for youth.

Voters have the most influence in local elections where elected officials can be your neighbors or someone you know from around town.  Yet, voter turnout varies by neighborhood and income level, meaning that those who vote in preliminary and general local elections have an over-sized influence on who ends up being the mayor or your city councilor.  The opposite is also true – , those who do not vote end up with elected official who are likely not representative of them.

This voter guide is intended for educational purposes to ensure that you, as a voter, know your rights and are informed in your decisions. CfJJ is a Massachusetts not-for-profit, non-partisan organization and does not endorse any candidates or political parties for public office.