Rockville could become the latest jurisdiction in the D.C. area to lower the voting age to 16.

The move, which would apply to municipal elections, was recommended by a commission assembled to review the city’s charter. The commission noted numerous advantages to expanding the right to vote to 16-and-17-year-olds, including advancing equity and increasing voter turnout. The commission was unable to identify any negatives, unanimously recommending the change.

Letting younger people vote would have a “trickle up effect,” the commission argued, as teenagers who vote are likely to influence other members of their family to do so as well. In addition, allowing people to vote at a younger age will build civic engagement and help residents form voting habits, driving higher voter turnout over the long term, the commission wrote. Plus, allowing younger people to vote would “better represent the changing demographics of Rockville residents,” according to the commission.

The commission report links to research from Rutgers that finds 16-and-17-year-olds are “neurologically and socially mature enough to vote responsibly.” Suggesting that younger residents will not be informed enough to vote is “prejudicial thinking,” the commission said, and anyway, being well-informed is not a prerequisite for voters of any age. The commission also noted that young people will be “disproportionately impacted” by many upcoming policy decisions, particularly those related to the environment, policing, city debt, city planning, and public schools.

The commission also urged city officials to allow non-citizens to vote, noting that at least 16 percent of Rockville residents are not U.S. citizens, but still make a “significant contribution to the local economy, education system, and our society as a whole.” The report lists 11 other jurisdictions in Montgomery County and Prince George’s County that allow residents to vote regardless or citizenship status.

In 2013, Takoma Park became the first city in the country to allow 16-year-olds to vote in municipal elections; Hyattsville and Greenbelt have since adopted similar policies. D.C. came close to lowering its voting age in 2018, but the move was narrowly voted down. In D.C., the legislation would have also allowed 16-and-17-year-olds to vote for president, not just for city officials.

The youth vote proposal was one of numerous recommendations of the Rockville Charter Review Commission, which was set up by the mayor and city council to propose ways to improve city governance. They mayor and council are expected to consider adopting the changes on Jan. 30.

Rockville has previously been at the forefront of electoral experimentation. In 2019, the city of 68,000 became the first in the region to adopt mail-in ballots.

The commission report considered ways to improve the mail-in system, and recommend adding more ballot drop-boxes for voters who chose not to use the mail. Currently there is only one drop box, in the parking lot at City Hall. Commissioners note that adding more boxes throughout the city would add “geographic parity.” City Hall is not accessible directly by public transportation, and the parking lot can only accommodate a line of four cars.

Other recommended changes include adding two  seats to the four-person council, imposing term limits, and creating legislative districts (currently council members are all at-large).

The commission voted unanimously to recommend expanding the council, despite identifying numerous negatives. A larger council would cost 40% more, it could make it harder to recruit enough qualified candidates, and it could make races less competitive. But the positives outweigh those concerns, the commission said: a larger council could better represent the city’s diversity, allow more residents to get involved in local politics, provide residents with more representation per capita, better distribute the workload of the council, and allow for the creation of subcommittees.

The commission recommended term limits of three consecutive four-year terms. An official could serve longer, in non-consecutive terms — for example a term-limited council member could run for mayor after sitting out one four-year period.

The commission recommended creating legislative districts, though commissioners left it to the mayor and council to determine how such a system would work and whether any at-large positions would remain.

The commission also recommended that the city translate ballots into languages besides English, noting that more than one in seven residents speak English “less than very well.”