On Thursday, September 17, Neli Farahmandpour, a sophomore at the University of Illinois, came to York High School to speak about the Suffrage at 17 law in Illinois.

As a freshman at Stevenson High School, Farahmandpour enrolled in a Constitutional Law class because she was interested in talking about amendments and how they relate to life at the moment.

In this class, Farahmandpour learned that kids who are 17 during the primary elections, held in March, were not allowed to vote in general elections– even though they’d be 18 when the general election came around in November.

Farahmandpour put a lot of time, effort, and commitment into getting this law changed.

“This is something that I’m really passionate about,” Farahmandpour said.

Through a series of meetings and petitions, traveling to Springfield, and speaking in front of a whole room of senators, the Suffrage at 17 bill was signed and went into effect as of January 2014.

Farahmandpour’s main message is that people should encourage everyone to vote as soon as they are of age, because even though many individuals may think that their one vote won’t make a difference, it can.

“If we can get young people to start voting in high school, they’ll have someone to teach them how to vote, how to research candidates.” Farahmandpour said. “They’ll carry that with them to college and beyond.”