Word: petitioner
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By an 8-1 vote, the council approved a petition to the state legislature asking for permission to lower the voting age for city council and school committee elections. If the petition is granted, Cambridge would become the first city in the country to enfranchise people under the age of...
Monday night, Mayor Michael A. Sullivan and Councillor Timothy J. Toomey swung their votes in favor of the petition. Both had opposed the measure last June and, up until the last minute, supporters of a lower voting age had said they were unsure how the two councillors would vote.
After lengthy student testimony Monday night, students applauded and cheered as each of the eight councillors—led by the petition’s sponsor, Councillor Henrietta Davis—stated their reasons for supporting the petition.
The state legislature will have to approve the Cambridge petition, because voting eligibility rules such as the voting age in local elections fall under its powers. Both student activists and councillors said they were unsure how or when the legislature would respond. But no one said they foresaw a smooth...
Rep. Jarrett T. Barrios ’90-’91 (D-Cambridge) and Rep. Alice K. Wolf (D-Cambridge) have both indicated their support for approving the petition at the state level.