Rockville considers lowering voting age to 16 for city elections

The Rockville City Council may amend its charter to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in its municipal elections, including for mayor and council, starting in 2027.

“Young people deserve a voice in the decisions shaping their lives,” Rockville City Council member Izola Shaw told The Banner. “I’m proud to have led this effort from its earliest stages.”

Shaw brought the issue to the city’s charter review commission in 2021 before she joined the council in late 2023. That year, voters decisively rejected lowering the voting age by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

This year, advocates, pointing to a growing list of jurisdictions that have adopted the policy, say there’s a better chance the lower age will become law. And the measure wouldn’t need to pass muster with Rockville’s electorate. A majority of the seven-member council will decide.

Last week, the City Council officially introduced a proposal that would amend the county charter to allow teen voting.

A date for the final vote has not yet been set.

Many consider Montgomery County the cradle of the youth voting movement.

Takoma Park in 2013 became the first city in the nation to lower the voting age to 16 for municipal elections, according to Vote16USA, a national organization that advocates for teen voting.

The Rockville City Council will host two public hearings to allow residents to weigh in on the issue during its meetings on Nov. 2 and 9.

Old enough?

In public hearings ahead of the 2023 decision, supporters argued that lowering the voting age would allow teens to play a bigger role in the civic life of the city. Some teens said it was only fair to be allowed to vote since some of them were old enough to drive on city roads and work jobs that benefit the city’s economy.

Opponents argued that teenagers aren’t mature enough to vote and that the privilege should be reserved for legal adults.

Rockville City Council member Adam Van Grack opposes the measure. He told The Banner on Monday that he wants to get youths involved in local politics, and that as a e5-year-old, he accompanied his family when they volunteered on local campaigns.

But what’s the argument for 16- and 17-year-old voters? he asked.

“In order for us to make such a significant decision, there needs to be a principled, evidence-based explanation for where we draw the line,” Van Grack said. “As of today, I’ve not received that explanation or justification.”

County Council member Kate Stewart, who served as mayor of Takoma Park from 2015 to 2022, said that youth civic engagement in that city since allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote “continues to be fantastic.”

“Being able to engage with young people, what their needs are, how they view what’s needed in the city, was incredibly helpful as we debated different policies and programs,” Stewart said.

Shaw said allowing teens to vote can have a multiplier effect.

“Young people are really excellent messengers in their homes to say ‘an election is happening and I’m voting,’” she said. “This also prompts adults around them to vote.”

The towns of Chevy Chase and Somerset also allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in municipal elections. Across the state, 16- and 17-year-olds can also vote in Hyattsville, Greenbelt, Cheverly, College Park, Berwyn Heights, Riverdale Park and Mount Rainier, according to Vote16USA.