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Council to review Mayor’s Request for Home Rule Petition to Grant Municipal Voting Rights to 16- and 17-Year-Olds
Members of the public are invited to attend and speak at two April 4 Public Hearings on a request from Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone to file a Home Rule Petition to the State Legislature requesting that 16- and 17-year-old Somerville citizens be granted legal voting rights for municipal elections.
The Legislative Matters Committee will hold hearings at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 4 in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 92 Highland Avenue. Committee Chair and Ward 5 City Councilor Mark Niedergang said the 3 p.m. hearing is specifically so that Somerville High School and other local students and young people could attend at a convenient time, but both hearings are open to all members of the public. Written testimony will also be accepted, please see below.
If approved by the Council and by the State Legislature, the petition would grant 16- and 17-year-old Somerville residents who are U.S. citizens the right to vote in municipal elections (City and School Committee) and on municipal ballot questions. The right would not extend to State or Federal elections. If approved by the Council and the Legislature, it is expected that the change would not go into effect until the 2021 municipal elections at the earliest.
The proposed Home Rule Petition is based on the recommendation made by the Mayor’s Clean and Open Election Task Force, which was convened by Mayor Curtatone in 2018. The Task Force’s final report, which can be reviewed at www.somervillema.gov/ElectionsReport, includes 16 recommendations to increase voter participation, lower barriers to candidate participation, and increase the openness and transparency of the election process.
Mayor Curtatone recently submitted a second request to the City Council based on the Task Force’s recommendation that the City seek a home rule petition to grant municipal voting rights to non-citizens who would otherwise be eligible to vote. Committee Chair Niedergang expects to take up the request regarding non-citizens in the near future.
Written Testimony: Public testimony at public hearings is generally limited to two minutes per person and may be extended at the discretion of the Chair. Written testimony for the public record may be submitted to citycouncil@somervillema.gov and cityclerk@somervillema.gov through Friday, April 12, but Councilors will often read emails received after the official close of the public record.
More information: To review the proposed Home Rule Petition and video of prior discussion, visit http://ow.ly/Ad6P30o9Fkd. For background on the proposals and the Task Force recommendations, visit https://www.somervillema.gov/news/somerville-consider-expanding-municipal-voting-rights-teenagers-aged-16-and-17-and-non-citizens.
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A recently released report by the Somerville Clean and Open Elections Task Force includes 16 recommendations to increase voter participation, lower barriers to candidate participation, and increase the openness and transparency of the election process.
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Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact Nency Salamoun, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or NSalamoun@somervillema.gov.
— City of Somerville
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We need to clean house in November. I suspect our mayor and some of our council members can read the tea leaves and see that they are risk of not be reelected and are desperate to change the voting rules.
Just months ago Somerville raised the age for purchasing smoking products from 18 to 21. For decades, and in some instances for centuries, the age of majority has been recognized as between 18 and 21. In the US, the right to vote is 18 nationwide under the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, regardless of the state laws. On their own, those who have not reached the age of majority may not marry, enter into contracts, purchase or drink alcohol, etc. Because it is recognized that those under 18 are not fully developed, they generally cannot be held liable for negligence or tried as an adult. Despite all of this, our Somerville representatives have suddenly decided that 16-17-year-olds are old enough to elect the officials who have the biggest impacts on our lives.
While it is admirable that 16-17-year-olds want to become more civically involved, most of them have completed only half of their high school government and history education. They have limited real life experience when it comes to employment, managing a household and paying taxes.
The real reason for this proposal is to ensure that the incumbents can remain in power as demographics change and the overall population becomes older and more politically aware. As the town becomes more expensive to live in, the demographics will start likely start shifting towards the right as higher income residents come in. The only way to counter an increase in fiscally conservative voters is to increase the more fiscally liberal (aka spend other people’s money) voter count. This will be used to get the votes to support the status quo and property tax overrides by threatening school programs unless tax increases are voted for. Politicians recognize that the only way to raise taxes is to only put to vote the part of the budget that people expect to be covered by their taxes and not the wasteful bureaucracy.
The folks running this town are moving further and further away from U.S. law, their oath to uphold the constitution, and common sense. They prefer to live within their shell of arrogance in their little dream worlds. It’s time for some statewide referendums to put these folks in check as they obviously are not listening to the voters.
I echo everything TheoNa said.
The proposal is trash, and I’m rather disappointed with how the City Council has chosen to use its time since getting elected.
Worcester nixes bid to let 16-year-olds vote
The Worcester City Council has spiked a bid to gain its support for a push to give 16-year-old residents the right to vote in local and state elections, Nick Kotsopolous reports at the Telegram. A local activist asked the council to support a bill filed by Worcester’s own Sen. Harriette Chandler — or at least send it to committee for further study — but the council decided against any further action.
The City Elections Department, charged with following all election laws, needs to take a very public stand on this issue. Not only will I no longer work at the polls if this goes through, I may refrain from voting entirely. I will not participate in what is nothing more than a Kindergarten activity when it comes to something like voting. I see enough twenty-somethings who do not take their responsibility seriously enough to learn about the candidates and the process, and to vote in local elections and not just Federal and State. How are 16-year-olds mature enough to choose our representatives but not to purchase cigarettes, buy a gun, join the military, buy a lottery ticket, etc.