Can’t Smoke, Can Vote

In a move designed to give students more of a voice in their education, the Cambridge City Council has rightly decided to give 17-year-olds the right to vote in city council and school committee elections. If the state approves the council’s petition, Cambridge will become the first city in the nation to enfranchise people under the age of 18 and to allow nearly all high school seniors and some juniors to vote in city elections.

Cambridge students will now have some influence over the people who run their schools, which is important because the students are the ones who benefit or suffer from school committee decisions. Students have a perspective that parents, teachers and administrators lack; they see the everyday effects of school committee policies. They know what works and what fails in the real world of the classroom, and they can offer advice on how teachers and administrators can be more effective and efficient.

Second, this change encourages Cambridge’s youth to vote before they graduate from high school, and it will help to ensure that voting becomes a habit. As some councillors expressed when they made their decision, this change will mean that more young people will vote in local elections—a critical issue in a nation where less than 30 percent of 18-24-year-olds voted in the 2000 presidential election.

Allowing 17-year-olds to vote in city elections will also encourage political participation at the local level, keeping students invested in Cambridge’s direction and future. Ultimately, today’s high school students will be living in Cambridge long after its current residents are gone.

One way to encourage young people to get informed and cast their votes is through civic education—voters must understand the issues for their decisions to mean anything. Cambridge high schools should allow candidates to speak to students about their platforms and important issues surrounding the election. In addition, the schools should continue to teach students about civics, state and local governance and the political process overall.

The only councillor who voted against lowering the voting age, David P. Maher, said he was worried that students would be “placed in a political battleground.” But students are responsible enough to deal with candidates and politics. If city council and school committee members give any extra attention to student priorities because 17-year-olds can vote, it will only help the students. They see the direct consequences of school committee decisions, often making them more informed on school issues than some other members of the community.

After almost two years of lobbying by student groups from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, the city council has rightly chosen to extend the franchise to high school students. This change will give students an unprecedented influence in local decisions and will encourage more of America’s youths to exercise their most fundamental right.