Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin defended his 17-year-old son amid an underage voting controversy.
The Republican said his son was confused and described the situation as a bunch of “silliness.”
GLENN YOUNGKIN’S UNDERAGE SON ATTEMPTED TO VOTE, OFFICIALS SAY
“There was real confusion on whether a 17-year-old could vote or not, and he had a friend who suggested he might be able to vote,” he said on Thursday. “I am a little bit frustrated that the media paid so much attention to it. It’s my 17-year-old son, and I would really like everybody to leave my family alone.”
“He went up and asked… he presented his ID, and when they said he couldn’t vote he said ‘okay’ and he went to school.”
Youngkin conveniently leaves out that half an hour after his son was told he couldn’t vote, he came back and tried to vote again.pic.twitter.com/4IrUJROrlQ
— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) November 11, 2021
Youngkin’s son made two attempts to vote on Election Day, despite being too young to vote. He entered a polling station and was turned away after showing his license, according to Fairfax election officials. A short while later, he came back to the station claiming that a friend was able to cast a vote despite being 17 and was turned away again, Jennifer Chanty, the precinct captain, told the Washington Post.
The voting age in the United States is 18 per the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Several states, however, allow individuals that are 17 to vote in primaries if they will be 18 by Election Day. Virginia is one of those states.
When news of this broke, Youngkin’s team released a statement defending his son and saying that he just made a mistake. But this is the first time he has publicly commented on the situation.
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Youngkin defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor’s race on Nov. 2.
