5 Places Proposing to Lower Voting Age

As places like Takoma Park and Hyattsville in Maryland pass rules providing 16- and 17-year-olds suffrage, more and more communities look to lower the voting age as well.

The first election allowing 16-year-olds to vote in the United States lead to 16- and 17-year-old individuals voting at twice the rate of those 18 and older, according to FairVote.

As the movement trends internationally as well, the opportunity for teenagers to vote grows.

VOTE NOW: Should Convicted Felons Be Allowed to Vote?

Here are some locations looking at making the change or have recently voted on a proposal to lower suffrage age restrictions.

1. San Francisco, California
While plans were made to vote on a charter amendment that would decrease the voting age, city supervisors decided more time was needed to discuss the issue, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The proposal is scheduled to be reintroduced next year.

2. Brattleboro, Vermont
Earlier this year, the “Youth Vote Amendment” was placed on the ballot to lower the voting age from 18 to 16, but residents struck down the proposal by nearly a 2-to-1 margin, Reuters reported.

3. Holyrood, Scotland
Following the election including a referendum where Scots voted to become an independent nation in which 16- and 17-year-olds were permitted to vote, Holyrood unanimously passed a bill permanently allowing this age group to vote, BBC reported.

4. United Kingdom
The Labour and Liberal Democrat parties are working to add an amendment to decrease the voting age to a bill that could decide if citizens of the United Kingdom will vote to stay a part of the European Union, the Daily Mail reported. The measure failed in the House of Commons, but the Lords are not giving up yet.

“The outcome of this referendum will have a lasting impact on the lives of all EU citizens,” Lord Labour leader Baroness Smith of Basildon told the Daily Mail. “If the Prime Minister insists on resisting this sensible change, it is almost certain that he would lose the vote in the Lords.”

5. Lethbridge, Canada
Lethbridge city councilors approved a resolution to decrease the municipal voting age to 16 in May, CBC News reported. The issue was set to go to the province’s government for approval from the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association.

TELL US: How Do You Feel About Voting Rights for Convicted Felons?

Related Stories:

• What Is Ranked-Choice Voting?
• Am I Registered to Vote?: A Case For Universal Voting Registration