Last week, Greenbelt, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, DC) became the latest city to lower its voting age to 16 by a unanimous vote of the city council – and some white supremacists are raging against this as a liberal plot to give blacks more votes. One blogger writes:
I checked the demographics [in Greenbelt]–less than half white, about a third black. But blacks have children and whites don’t. The age distribution is going to make black teens the power in several Maryland towns. Never support lowering the voting age if you’re white. It will lead to your destruction even more rapidly than already.
This comes after two other DC suburbs have already lowered their voting ages to 16, so people like saboteur365 are naturally shitting bricks.
The real reasons, though, have nothing to do with any black supremacist plot. In countries where the 16 voting age has been introduced, the results for democracy have been great. Studies show that 16-year-old voters are as thoughtful and responsible as voters in other age groups, so there is no reason to shut them out. Further, as teenagers become voters, it enhances the quality of their civics education as it makes civics feel more relevant to them.
But the most important benefit of a 16 voting age is this: it will increase voter participation for all age-groups. The greatest indicator of whether a given voter will vote in the next election is whether he/she voted in the last one. People who start their voting lives distracted by the life-changes of college or career often fail to register and vote in their first election. They then rationalize voting isn’t important, and they continue the habit of staying home on Election Day – a habit that can last a lifetime. In areas with a 16 voting age, however, teenagers begin their voting lives with parents and teachers who can help them navigate the complexities of our election system. They begin habits of participating, and those are the habits they will repeat as they grow older.
Takoma Park, MD was America’s first city to adopt a 16 voting age. In their first city election after the change, voters aged 16-18 had a turnout rate four times the turnout rate for older voters. In subsequent elections, the turnout rate for voters younger than 18 has remained high. Other #Vote16 cities are enjoying similar benefits.
And in some families, 16-year-old voters are even inspiring their non-voting parents to move past a lifetime of cynicism and start participating themselves.
No wonder the voter-suppression crowd are tearing their hair out. The 16 voting age is rejuvenating democracy.