This midterm season, residents of Culver City cast their vote on Measure VY, the only act on a ballot in the nation that would lower the voting age in local elections to 16.
The measure reflects a decade-long effort to expand voting accessibility in municipalities nationwide. Takoma Park, Maryland, was the first to pass “Vote 16″ legislation in 2013; by 2014, the turnout rate for 16- and 17-year-olds exceeded that of any other age group.
“I don’t see what really changes between 16 and 18 to the point where somebody could be drafted for the military and not be able to vote,” Madeline Perrou, a voter at the Culver City City Hall polling station said. “And I think that teenagers now have a lot of pressure to get into college and to study for the SATs, so they clearly have the brain cognition to make important decisions.”
Five other Maryland municipalities as well as cities like Berkeley, Oakland and Washington D.C, followed suit, passing similar legislation to grant voting access to younger voters.
“Voting is habit forming — studies show that one of the best predictors of whether someone’s going to vote is whether they voted previously,” Joshua Douglas, a professor at the University of Kentucky, said.
Douglas, an election law and voting rights researcher who has previously supported these ballot measures, said that 18-year-olds are already bombarded with the transition to university, introduction to the workforce and the pressure of relocation, making it a “weird age” to start the voting process.
“If we do it at 16, people are still in school,” Douglas said. “We can get them registered, we can educate them appropriately and improve civics.”
In March of 2021, the United States House of Representatives voted against the “For the People Act,” a Constitutional amendment introduced by Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley that would lower the voting age to 16 on a national level for federal elections.
The voting age for federal elections has not been changed since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which lowered it to 18 via the 26th amendment. The measure passed after Congress faced criticism for allowing 18 year-olds to be drafted into the armed forces but not giving them the right to vote.
“I think at 16, that young, you can be easily influenced,” Mike Hinojose, a poll worker, said. When Hinojose was in high school, he did not care much about voting and politics. “I’m going to say it anyway, I was more into girls in high school,” he said.
When asked if the measure had any impact on voter turnout, Erik Merino, the voting center clerk, said that it was possible. “I feel like they understand that the future generation has a voice, and would like them to be able to express it because any age group is important,” Merino said.
No other city in the nation will consider lowering the voting age for local elections this year.
“I know a lot of adults who don’t do their own research,” Culver City voter Madeline Perrou said. “So if kids or teenagers are passionate about voting, then I don’t see why they shouldn’t be able to, [especially] if they’re more educated than many of the adults.”