Politics & Government
Takoma Park Makes History with New Voting Age
City Council rejects referendum proposal, lowers voting age as part of charter changes.
If you are old enough to get a Maryland driver's license, you will be old enough to vote in the City of Takoma Park’s municipal election in November.
The City Council passed a series of charter amendments Monday including one making Takoma Park the first city in the United States to lower its minimum age for voting to 16, The Gazette reported.
The amendments, proposed by council members Tim Male and Seth Grimes, sparked debate in the city.
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“We thought it was the right thing to allow them to participate,” Grimes told Patch in March, saying that he has met many engaged 16- and 17-year-old Takoma Park residents.
in March that her children “are focused on being teenagers," and not so much on the issues of city government.
Find out what's happening in Takoma Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Councilman Fred Schultz was the only vote Monday against the amendments, which also establish same-day voter registration and allow felons who have served their sentence to vote, The Gazette reported.
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