This Maryland Town Just Became The Next Battleground In Democrats’ Push To Let Minors Vote

CHEVERLY, Md. — In a small town less than 10 miles from Washington, D.C., dozens of residents in Cheverly, Maryland, braved the blistering cold and pouring rain to attend Wednesday’s town council meeting and provide testimony on whether the locality should allow individuals as young as 16 to vote in local elections.

“I haven’t heard a good reason for it. I can think of a number of reasons why not,” Fred Price Jr. is a Marine Corps veteran who has lived in Cheverly for 50 years. He spoke to The Federalist. “[But] I’d like it to go to a referendum, so I [can] have more time to think about it.”

Similar to other municipalities throughout the country, Cheverly’s minimum voting age is set at 18 years old, with Article V of the town’s charter Residents must also have lived in Cheverly. “at least thirty days prior to the day of any general or special election” To vote. The town council has been around for a few years. adopted An amendment to Article V that allows non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections if they meet these residency requirements.

Like much of the country when it comes to election-related issues, attendees of Wednesday’s town hall appeared heavily divided on whether to open up the town’s electoral process to minors. Proponents of the initiative argued that lowering the voting age is logical because, as they opined, today’s teenagers are given more responsibilities than previous generations.

“I think teenagers today do bear a lot more responsibility, have a lot more knowledge, and are actually granted privileges that probably weren’t granted to younger people before,” Linda Cruz, who’s lived in Cheverly since 2001, told The Federalist. “I took my kids to get bank accounts and they’re [getting offered] a debit card at age 13. So, there’s a lot more rights and responsibilities happening [at] younger and younger [ages], so why not voting?”

Minors were among those who supported the proposition, as was Zora Heneghan (17-year-old founder of Cheverly Youth Commission Zora). During her remarksHeneghan claimed that teens make decisions about higher education and employment, which is why the council should approve this measure.

“We’re expected in a couple months to sign our name on a dotted line committing either ourselves or our family to up to $200,000 in [college student loan] debt. That’s a decision that we’re allowed to make when we’re 17,” Heneghan said. “We’re allowed to work. I mean half the people you see here today work for the Cheverly pool. … You have literally put the lives of your children in their hands.”

As described on the town’s website, the Cheverly Youth Commission is an organization “committed to promoting youth engagement” in the community that strives towards “making sure teenagers are informed about town politics, volunteer opportunities, and community gatherings in order to become better voters and more active members of the town.” The group proposed The “Vote16” measure.

However, not everyone in Cheverly agrees with the idea of minors voting in

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