Arkansas city elects 18-year-old as youngest Black mayor in US

It is not even a year since Jaylen Smith was learning the power of the youth vote as a student government leader at his high school in Arkansas. Now the pioneering teenager is about to put his knowledge into practice as the youngest elected Black mayor anywhere in the US.

On Tuesday, as the Georgia Senate runoff was capturing the attention of the nation, Smith, 18, was steadily amassing the votes he needed to become the next leader of the small city of Earle, population 1,785.

Smith credited younger voters, having proved his credentials to them by negotiating a deal with a high school cafeteria vendor, among other issues.