Rockville’s voting age could become 16

been a lot of grassroots organizing and honestly just a lot of helping to spread the word that this is even happening,” Ms. Valeri said.

According to Ms. Valeri, the policy change is a complex process. “The Mayor and Council received our recommendations, and they get to decide which changes will be made,” she said.

“If the community feels strongly about an issue that the Mayor and Council support, they can vote to implement it. If the community feels strongly about an issue but the Mayor and Council do not, then it could be put on the next city ballot as a referendum.”

Many RM students appear to support the possible change.

“I know through my son and the children of friends of mine who go to RM that there is anecdotal support for lowering the voting age,” Ms. Valeri said.

“I think it will be good to decrease [the] voting age because it opens up the floor for new ideas from young people,” sophomore D’Angelo Reyes said.

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Marissa Valeri, mother of an RM freshman and a member of the Commission, has been close- ly involved in the approval procedure for lowering the city’s voting age since 2020. She thinks that many Rockville residents are currently unaware of discussions regarding the potential shift. “It’s

Freshman Makayla Risso shares similar sentiments. “What we’re voting for is for someone who can take care of the city, and most of the things that need to be taken care of in the city are things to do with younger people,” she said. “We should be able to choose who we think would [do the best] in helping make us more successful.”

However, Risso believes that 16 year olds should only be allowed to vote for political candidates, and not other aspects like legislation. “With what has been going on with the guns, I don’t think it would be good if we let 16 year olds decide what is right and wrong for policy specifically,” she said.

“Younger residents will see the impact of the policies well into the future, when folks my age are no longer around,” Ms. Valeri said. “So I believe strongly that they should have a voice and a vote.”