MINNESOTA COALITION TO LOWER THE VOTING AGE:
An Inventory of Its Records at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Minnesota Coalition to Lower the Voting Age, creator. | |
| Title: | Coalition records. | |
| Dates: | 1968-1972. | |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, minutes, financial records, newsletters, promotional literature, and miscellany of a group, headed by Wayne Gilbert and Jeanne Bear, which lobbied successfully for passage (1970) of legislation lowering the Minnesota voting age to 19. | |
| Quantity: | 0.3 cubic feet (8 folders). | |
| Location: | P14: See Detailed Description section for shelf locations. |
HISTORICAL NOTE
The Minnesota Coalition to Lower the Voting Age (MCLVA) was organized in 1968 as a coalition of several youth groups, including Minnesota Federation of DFL Clubs, Teen-Age Republicans, and the Minnesota Student association. This coalition disintegrated, but an executive board of interested persons continued to act as the MCLVA. Active board members were Wayne Gilbert, Executive Director; Jeanne Bear, Public Relations Director; Larry Bye, Director of Organization, and Joe Schroeder, Finance Director.
The purpose of the MCLVA was to represent and to act in behalf of young adults who advocated lowering the voting age. In 1969, the MCLVA lobbied in support of legislation for an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution lowering the voting age to 19. Following the amendment's passage by the legislature, the MCLVA launched a successful statewide campaign to secure its approval in the 1970 general election. The campaign was conducted mainly by organizing local MCLVA units and by a statewide public relations effort.
The Coalition ceased to function after the passage of the amendment.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The papers consist of organizational documents, correspondence, minutes, financial reports, promotional materials, and a study of the MCLVA. The arrangement within each folder is chronological, with any undated items filed first.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minnesota Coalition to Lower the Voting Age Records. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples
Accession Information:
Accession number: 11,426
Processing Information:
Catalog ID number: 990017318600104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P14 | 1 | Organizational materials, undated. | |||||||||
| An unsigned copy of the "Articles of Association" drawn up in 1969, organizational charts for the state board, organizational manuals and a suggested constitution for local MCLVA units, and rosters of the state board and local units. | |||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P14 | 2 | Correspondence, 1969-1970. | |||||||||
| Letters written and received by members of the MCLVA, including letters from various Minnesota Federation of Labor locals providing names of apprentices under the age of 21. Some letters were written for the MCLVA by Joseph F. Sullivan of the public relations firm of Kaufman, Spicer, and Company. | |||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P14 | 3 | Minutes and staff memoranda, 1969-1970. | |||||||||
| The Executive Board's minutes cover organization, public relations, contracts with support groups, and budgetary matters, and include committee reports. The staff memoranda, all undated, are from Larry Bye, Organization Director. | |||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P14 | 4 | Financial records, 1969-1970. | |||||||||
| Proposed budgets, invoices, income and expenditure sheets, and information on fund-raising activities. | |||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P14 | 5 | News releases and speeches, 1968-1970. | |||||||||
| Media releases and speeches provide background on, and urge support of, the MCLVA campaign. | |||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P14 | 6 | Promotional materials, 1969-1970. | |||||||||
| Signature sheets in support of proposed legislation, letters, posters, and informal packets developed to promote legislative lobbying efforts in 1969 and a "yes" vote in Amendment 2 in November 1970. | |||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P14 | 7 | Miscellaneous resource material, 1968-1970. | |||||||||
| Background reports and support materials from the Youth Franchise Coalition, the League of Women Voters, and the Student Minnesota Education Association, etc., and copies of newspapers and periodical articles. | |||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||
| P14 | 8 | "Youth and Politics Campaign, 1970: Campaign and Election Behavior," 1972. 104 pages. | |||||||||
| Jan Bear and Kathleen Davies, MCLVA board members, provide a history and analysis of the MCLVA in a study prepared for a college class. The study is developed around a telephone poll that they conducted in October 1970. The folder also includes correspondence concerning the poll. | |||||||||||
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Voting -- Law and legislation -- Minnesota.
- Voting age -- Minnesota.
- Youth -- Political activity.
- Persons:
- Bear, Jeanne.
- Gilbert, Wayne.
- Sullivan, Joseph F.
- Places:
- Minnesota -- Politics and government -- 1945-1980.
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