Alex Brandon/AP
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance has backtracked on his previous comments suggesting people with children should be allowed more votes, saying the suggestion was more of a “thought experiment” than an actual policy.
A clip of the Ohio Senator speaking in 2021 previously went viral, in which he said people with children should have “more power” at the ballot box than those without.
“Let’s face the consequences and the reality: If you don’t have as much of an investment in the future of this country, maybe you shouldn’t get nearly the same voice,” he said in a speech at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
In an interview with ABC News’ This Week on Sunday, Vance defended his remarks, but said it was not a “policy proposal” and more a response to suggestions of lowering the voting age in the U.S.
“It’s a thought experiment, right? Democrats said we should give children the right to vote. Some Democrats had said we’re going to give children did right to vote,” Vance said.
“And I said, well, if we’re going to give the rights to the children, then we should actually just allow the parents to cast those votes, right? I trust a parent more with a decision like that than I do say a 14-year-old. So, it’s a thought experiment.”
This is a breaking story. More to follow.