San Francisco has often found itself on the frontlines of political change, making it a significant precinct for many movements. Some people are seeking to change the #voting age from 18 to 16 for municipal elections.

This issue was brought before voters in 2016 and again in 2020, failing by a narrow margin each time. The proposal is gaining a lot of traction. This would change the political landscape significantly, making San Francisco one of only a handful of cities nationwide to adopt this change.

San Francisco’s Board of Education voiced their unanimous support of lowering the voting age in 2016. Vote16SF released a statement after the 2020 #election, in which 49.2% of voters were in favor of the measure, saying that they “look forward to exploring avenues to put the measure back on the ballot at a future election.”

Nationwide, the issue is increasingly receiving bipartisan support in Congress. Supporters say that lowering the voting age to 16 would make it possible to engage students in learning about government, helping them to establish lifelong habits that would hopefully lead to higher voter turnout. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is among those who endorse reducing San Francisco’s voting age.

Opponents of the movement argue that 16- and 17-year-olds are highly impressionable and have yet to fully develop the critical thinking skills required to make properly informed decisions. Lowering the voting age would cause a significant demographic shift that would change politicians’ target audiences, which may negatively affect the amount of attention paid to existing issues.

The question up for debate: Should the voting age for San Francisco municipal elections be lowered to 16 years old?