In Hagerstown, a push to lower the voting age runs into a $100,000 hurdle

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Zoë Burnett works two jobs, pays taxes and drives legally in Hagerstown. But at 17, she cannot vote for the local officials whose decisions affect her daily life.

Burnett is the Washington County regional director for Vote16MD, a youth-led organization pushing to lower the voting age to 16 in local elections.

“I work two jobs. I pay taxes. I hold a license here,” Burnett said. “It’s okay for me to drive a car at 17 years old, but I can’t vote?”

Burnett and other advocates want Hagerstown to join several Maryland municipalities that allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local elections.

LaJuan Allen, executive director of Vote16USA, said the movement has expanded rapidly in recent years.

“There are 15 jurisdictions across the country that allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in either school board or municipal elections. Ten of those are in Maryland,” Allen said.

Those 10 jurisdictions in Maryland are Takoma Park, Hyattsville, Riverdale Park, Greenbelt, Mount Rainier, Chevy Chase, Somerset, Cheverly, College Park and Berwyn Heights.

But unlike those communities, Hagerstown and any other Maryland community that now wants to lower the voting age faces a financial barrier that could cost close to $100,000 to overcome. It would have to set up its own board of elections.

A legislative roadblock

Hagerstown currently partners with the State Board of Elections to run its municipal elections, a system that reduces administrative burdens and costs.

Allen said Maryland municipalities generally have the authority to regulate their own elections, including the ability to lower the voting age.

“Our understanding from a legal perspective is that Hagerstown could do this,” Allen said.

But under state legislation passed in 2025, municipalities using the State Board of Elections must certify that their elections align with those used in state and county elections, including voter registration and voting rules.

“The state will only run your election if your municipality has the same procedures as the state for voter registration,” said Sam Novey, the chief strategist at the University of Maryland Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement. “That creates problems for cities and towns that want to implement expansive policies like Vote 16.”

While the legislation preserved state support for local elections, it also reinforced a requirement that effectively ties participating municipalities to state voting rules. In practice, that limits a city’s ability to adopt policies such as lowering the voting age while remaining in the state system.

A costly change

Breaking from the current arrangement would mean running off-cycle municipal elections. City officials have estimated expenses under this new system could exceed six figures.

The costs are that high for a reason, said Michael Lynch, a University of Maryland student who has advocated for Vote16 efforts across the state.

“They would have to buy ballots from the state and set up ballot reading machines,” he said. “They would have to do all this as the town. They wouldn’t be able to piggyback on the state.”

And that creates a political obstacle.

Hagerstown Councilmember Sean Flaherty, a Republican, said cost is a central concern.

“I personally don’t support it. I think it’s very costly for the city, because we run our elections on presidential years, and we get our funding for elections from the county,” Flaherty said.

Flaherty said those costs are difficult to justify, given the city’s current priorities.

“We have so many issues with crime and drugs, I don’t think 16-year-olds voting is the top of our concern right now,” Flaherty said.

Burnett acknowledged that the plan’s cost has proved to be an obstacle, which is why she has begun researching whether grants or other sources of funding could offset the cost.

“That’s where I lose some of the council members, the money part,” Burnett said.

The case for Vote 16

Supporters argue that lowering the voting age gives young people the opportunity to get involved with local decisions at a time which is uniquely beneficial to their civic development.

Novey said the movement to lower the voting age can often be symbolic of broader political and societal inclusion.

“For a lot of the young people leading these movements, the vote at 16 is about empowering a generation that feels left out,” Novey said.

A 2023 study from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland suggested that individuals who cast their first ballot while still in school or living at home are more likely to continue voting into their 20s.

Allen said 16 may be a particularly effective age to establish that habit.

“We know that voting is habitual. You’re much more likely to vote in subsequent elections if you vote in one election, and we know that 16 is a much better age to establish that habit,” he said.

Data from Takoma Park, the first U.S. city to adopt Vote 16, suggests strong youth participation. In the city’s 2013 election, 16- and 17-year-olds voted at higher rates than adult voters, both among eligible and registered voters, despite their small overall numbers.

“Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds are affected by school. They pay taxes when they work. They are active members of our society,” Novey said. “Their power to hold people accountable is constrained by not having the vote.”

Supporters also point to research on adolescent development. Voting, they argue, relies on what researchers call “cold cognition,” or decision making in structured, low-pressure environments.

“What we also know is that voting requires what we would call cold cognition,” Allen said. “And we know that cold cognition does not change much after the age of 16.”

The case against

A common argument against lowering the voting age is that 16-year-olds lack the maturity or civic knowledge required to vote.

Burnett rejects that notion, saying young people are capable of making informed decisions.

“I form my own opinions. I look at the facts and decide who I want elected,” she said.

Novey said research shows that in structured environments like voting, 16-year-olds perform similarly to adults when given time and information to make decisions.

Flaherty, however, did not focus on maturity, instead arguing that the current system works as is and that younger residents can still take part in politics.

“Sixteen-year-olds can certainly be involved in the political process. They can work on campaigns, hand out literature, I did all those things,” Flaherty said.

For now, the proposal remains stalled, but Burnett said she is not backing down.

“We’re just asking to have a voice in our local elections and the stuff that affects us,” she said.

Stephen Lotz reports for Capital News Service.