SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Youth Commission proposed a resolution to the Mayor of San Francisco and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to make the age of 16, the city’s legal voting age for both “municipal and school district elections,” according to the resolution. The “Vote16SF” resolution is an extension of “Vote16USA,” a national campaign by Generation Citizen.
In November 2016, San Francisco’s Proposition F, the first ballot measure in the nation to grant 16 and 17-year-olds voting rights for municipal elections, received a total of 172,000 votes. While the measure received 48 percent of the vote, 50 percent was mandatory for the measure to be passed.
The Vote16SF site states, “16-17 year olds can work without limitations on hours, pay taxes, drive cars, and be tried in adult courts. Based on the civic responsibilities that accrue at age 16–and as people who use public services and are affected by government decisions–16-17 year olds deserve a say in how government is run.”
The Youth Commission is a group of 17 San Franciscans between the ages of ages 12 to 23. The group advises the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors on legislation pertaining to the youth of San Francisco.
On Tuesday, June 30, the SF Board of Supervisors will vote to have the measure officially placed on the ballot.
