WESTBOROUGH — At 16 years old, students have the option to drop out of school. They can be tried as an adult for serious crimes, and if they have a job, they pay taxes. Despite this, they cannot vote. However, four students at Westborough High School are making an attempt to change that.
With the help of Nuray Wallace and Curt Krechevsky, members of the Westborough Democratic Committee, the group of students has submitted a Home Rule Petition that seeks to lower the town’s voting age to 16, allowing those who pre-register the opportunity to vote in town elections, Town Meetings, and town caucuses.
The petition will be voted on at Town Meeting on March 21. If passed, the petition would be brought to the Select Board before it is submitted to the state legislature. Though about a dozen other municipalities in Massachusetts have submitted similar petitions over the years, none have been granted approval yet.
“It needs more towns to get behind it to make it a priority to legislators, so we hope that adding Westborough to the table is going to add a little bit more drive behind it,” said Westborough junior Gary Doering. “And when this is done, we don’t plan to stop there. We’d love to be able to talk with legislators and engage at the state level as well and see if we can help other towns do this.”
Doering, along with junior Chloe Flynn and seniors Ava Wallace and Olivia Stark, have launched a website and accompanying Instagram account to raise awareness about this petition. The students formed a club with two faculty advisors, and they’re seeking the input from their peers before going in front of the town in March.
The group, which has coined the name Westborough Votes 16, believes allowing 16- and 17-year-olds the option to vote helps promote lifelong civic engagement.
“And when this is done, we don’t plan to stop there. We’d love to be able to talk with legislators and engage at the state level as well and see if we can help other towns do this.”
Flynn said a decent amount of her peers are already civic-minded, but she believes this initiative can get students more involved – doing learning beyond the theoretical government discussions they participate in during classes.
Doering noted there is a high participation in civic-focused clubs at Westborough High, but students feel there’s a lack of connection between that and the real world: “Getting involved in local government is a good first step where you can make a really big impact.”
Club members have attended Town Meetings, School Committee meetings, and helped out in candidates’ forums, but they want to have more say. Students have had interest in local topics like the Library Renovation Project and School Committee elections.
Ava Wallace highlighted the impact this could have on voter turnout, with their research showing that those who began voting young were more likely to continue to head to the polls throughout their lifetime.
“We’re seeing this movement happen worldwide,” Doering said.
Although most teens don’t own property in town, Doering noted owning property hasn’t been a voting requirement since 1853, and there has been a long history of renters, college students, and other dependents getting a vote.
Additionally, he highlighted that teens are more than capable of forming their own opinions.
“This generation is the most educated generation of all time. They learn, they know so much, they are capable of so much more than even a generation ago. So the idea that they are not capable of thinking right in order to vote is totally ludicrous,” said Nuray Wallace.
Link: https://www.communityadvocate.com/news/westborough-students-working-to-lower-town-s-voting-age/article_8fb90866-277f-44a6-aa8a-e85a28149e44.html
