WASHINGTON — Hyattsville is on its way to becoming the second municipality in the country to lower the voting age and allow 16 and 17-year-olds to cast a vote.
Monday night, Hyattsville’s City Council took public comment about Councilman聽Patrick Paschall鈥檚 motion to give some teens the right to vote.
鈥淚鈥檓 here to encourage you all to pass the motion,鈥� said 16-year-old Juwan Blocker.
鈥淚 believe there will be a huge turnout of kids who want to vote,鈥� said Blocker who is the vice president of his class at Parkdale High School.
Working off nearby Takoma Park’s example, the first municipality to approve a lower voting age, Paschall points to studies that support including younger voters.
鈥淪ixteen and 17-year-olds voting 聽鈥� actually vote at higher rates than 18 to 20-year-olds. They establish a habit of voting that they carry through the rest of their life,鈥� he says.
Paschall says studies show聽the earlier teens are given a voice in the democratic process, the sooner they own that voice and make their own choices — many independently of their parents鈥� political views.
At the public meeting, 15-year-old Sarah Leonard, a sophomore at Roosevelt High School spoke in support of the motion.
鈥淚 think I speak for most of our class, 聽this has encouraged us to be aware, pay a bit more attention to what’s going on,鈥� she said.
Councilman Tim Hunt is calling for a referendum on the issue which goes to a second reading Jan. 20. Upon passing, it becomes law in 50 days, well ahead of Hyattsville鈥檚 election on May 5.
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