Community members weighed in on a proposed amendment to lower the voting age to 16 for city elections at Tuesday’s College Park City Council meeting.
The city hopes lowering the voting age will increase civic engagement with younger residents and create a more inclusive voting environment, city documents read. If the amendment passes, the change would take effect about 50 days after its authorization and will be implemented in the general November election, according to city clerk Yvette Allen.
Under Maryland law, cities are permitted to lower the voting age for local elections. Nearby cities such as Hyattsville, Takoma Park, Mount Rainier, Greenbelt and Riverdale Park have implemented similar voting measures, city documents read.
District 3 resident David Dorsch said he’s against this change because he believes minors aren’t well-versed on city politics. Allowing them to vote on something they don’t know anything about, he said, would cause more harm to the community.
[College Park City Council deputy student liaison to focus on public safety, transportation]
“You want people that are voting that understand what the issues are, and what’s behind the issues, and what you need to do with those issues,” Dorsch said during the amendment’s public hearing Tuesday.
Dorsch added that just because other cities have lowered the age, doesn’t mean College Park should follow.
City resident Michael Lynch, who voted at 16 in Riverdale Park, said giving younger residents voting rights encourages them to be better citizens and upholds democracy.
Having the opportunity to vote at 16 prompted him to be more aware of and educated on local and national politics, he said.
“As I grow older, I may come to regret decisions that I made when I was younger, but voting will not be one of them,” he said.
In addition to city residents, members of Vote16USA, a national initiative aiming to lower the voting age at local levels, and Common Cause, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to strengthen democracy, spoke in support of the amendment.
[Special election for District 3 College Park City Council member set for March 11]
Vanessa Li, an executive member of Vote16USA’s National Youth Advisory Board, urged the council to consider the positive effects this amendment would have on the civic engagement of future generations.
“This resolution represents an opportunity to recognize the value and capability of young people in shaping their communities,” the 17-year-old high school student said.
Ari Franco, the youth engagement organizer with Common Cause, argued that trying to engage 18-year-old voters for the first time is difficult because the typical life changes during that age — such as starting college or entering the workforce — may keep them busy.
Lowering the voting age to 16 will allow young voters to experience voting before they undergo these changes, Franco said. This will ensure individuals are prepared to be civically engaged at the national level later on, Franco explained.
The council agreed to hold off voting on the matter until after the special election for the vacant District 3 city council seat on March 11.
