Should 16-year-olds be allowed to vote? It's a debate playing out in a suburb of our nation's capital.
Rockville, Maryland residents could lower the voting age to 16 this year. They wouldn't be the first in their state. Takoma Park already allows 16-year-olds to vote. Now, lawmakers in other cities across the country are considering it as well.
“We were looking at making changes to try to increase the number of voters that participated in city elections,” said Tim Male, who was a former member of the Takoma Park City Council, told WTOP News. “It just seemed like a great idea.”
Former congressional candidate Raven Harrison doesn't think lowering the age at which a U.S. citizen is allowed to vote is a great idea. She says age restrictions, in general, are inconsistent. She notes how one must be 18 years old to serve in the military, 21 years old to drink alcohol, and 25 years old to rent a car.
“There needs to be some level of consistency with how we apply that,” Harrison explained. “Right now, I feel like if it’s going to go anywhere, it should go up. There’s no statistical or factual precedent for lowering that age.”
Political analysts have told Fox News that "younger voters skew overwhelmingly Democratic," which might explain why many Democrats are pushing for change.