A previously unsuccessful effort to lower the voting age to 16 in the city of San Francisco is once again underway — led mainly by youth who aim to increase civic engagement and representation.
The topic appeared on the ballot in 2016 and 2020, losing both times by a small margin, though gaining more support the second time around.
Youth activist Ewan Barker Plummer, who was appointed to the San Francisco Youth Commission chair position by Mayor London Breed in 2021, is working to garner support among community stakeholders to back another attempt to pass a measure that would grant 16 and 17-year-old San Franciscans the right to vote in local elections.
“Lowering the voting age is a pretty common-sense measure to increase engagement overall in our democracy,” said Barker Plummer, who is not only interested in getting young people engaged with voting, he’s also concerned with what he refers to as the “year of transition” that so many 18-year-olds go through — making voting a bit difficult.
“People are going to college, going into the workforce, moving out in general, and it’s sort of a bad time to begin this optional civic duty that we know is so important but pretty easily falls to the wayside when it comes to other more urgent responsibilities facing young adults,” he said.
Because of that transitional period, many don’t begin voting until they’re in their 30s, which skews voter engagement older, according to Barker Plummer.
“Which is also why we often see young people questioning why candidates seem to appeal more directly to older voters and to their economic issues and their social issues, because we’re actually not seeing engagement from young people in elections.”
Barker Plummer said it is more ideal to begin voting at 16, when most still live at home and can invest the time to understand the process.
Joy Zhan, youth development specialist for the Youth Commission, further pointed out that beginning at age 16, teens are allowed to begin working, at which point they begin paying taxes.
“Our country was founded on no taxation without representation, so we want to ensure that young people who are paying taxes get a say in how their taxes are used,” she said.
Our hope is that San Francisco will become the first major city in the U.S. to do this. … When it gets passed and when it gets implemented, we hope that it will have a ripple effect not only across the Bay Area but hopefully across the state.
Ewan Barker Plummer, Youth activist
She provided examples of European countries and smaller cities in the state of Maryland on the East Coast that have already lowered their voting ages — changes that she said led to increased voter turnout. She added that teens at 16 can obtain a driver’s license, a hunting license and an aviation license, and they can also be tried as an adult.
“Young people are leading protests on their own school safety, on gun safety, and for LGBTQ youth, and they are concerned for their own future, and I think they are so ready to make decisions on ballot measures and the people who are representing them,” Zhan continued.
The Youth Commission postponed a rally originally set for Friday in order to finalize some details with stakeholders, commissioners and sponsors. A future rally date was not yet solidified at press time.
Whether the topic will appear on this year’s ballot or in the years to follow is also still being decided, but for Barker Plummer, it’s a matter of when, not if.
“Our hope is that San Francisco will become the first major city in the U.S. to do this,” he said. “When it gets passed and when it gets implemented, we hope that it will have a ripple effect not only across the Bay Area but hopefully across the state.”