The Banner reported today on Rockville's proposal to lower the voting age to 16 for municipal elections, including an interview in which I discussed my concerns about the proposed charter amendment and the importance of youth civic engagement. As I told The Banner:

My support for youth involvement in the political process comes from personal experience. As The Banner noted, I began participating in local elections at just five years old, accompanying my parents, who both served as precinct chairs at Rockville polling places. I continued volunteering on political campaigns throughout Montgomery County as a teenager, spending long days at the polls and learning firsthand the importance of civic participation.

Those experiences helped shape my lifelong commitment to public service and reinforced my belief that young people can play a meaningful role in our democracy well before they are eligible to vote.

My concern is not with encouraging youth participation. Rather, my concern is with formally changing the legal voting age without a clear, principled, and evidence-based justification for why 16 is the appropriate threshold as opposed to 14, 15, 17 or the current standard at 18. We should not make serious voting decisions based on arbitrary standards.

We also cannot ignore the views of Rockville residents. In the 2023 advisory referendum, nearly 70% of voters opposed lowering the voting age to 16, with 8,665 voting against the proposal and 3,601 supporting it.

I believe we should take that result seriously while continuing to encourage meaningful opportunities for young people to participate in local government and civic affairs.

Read the full article: Rockville considers lowering voting age to 16 for city elections, by Ginny Bixby, The Baltimore Banner, October 13, 2026.

www.thebanner.com

If Rockville lowers its voting age for municipal elections, it would follow Takoma Park, the first city in the nation to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to cast ballots in local races.

The Mayor and Council will hold public hearings in the Council Chambers on November 2 and November 9, and I encourage residents to share their perspectives. Information on Rockville's Public Hearings: https://www.rockvillemd.gov/news/2026/10/09/public-hearing-notice-proposed-changes-to-elections-code-voting-age-term-limits-minimum-age-to-serve/