D.C. Considers Allowing 16 Year Olds to Participate in 2020 Presidential Elections
High school students living in Washington D.C. may potentially be able to participate in the upcoming 2020 presidential elections.
According to WUSA9, a legislation introduced by D.C council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) last Tuesday could permit 16- and 17-year-olds in D.C. to vote in both federal and local elections. Allen asserted that the Parkland student survivors who organized the March for Our Lives campaign in D.C served as his source of inspiration for the legislation.
WUSA9 reports that proponents of the bill disclosed that they have garnered the endorsement of seven of the 13 D.C. council members.
If the jurisdiction is approved, D.C. will join the ranks of preceding cities, such as Takoma Park, Md. and Berkely, Calif., that successfully lowered their voting ages for local elections to 16. Due to the dual identity of the District of Columbia as both a city and a state, D.C. will also be the first state to enable 16 and 17-year-old’s to be a contributing factor in electing the next President of the United States.
