The current voting age is an injustice and should be lowered to 16. So many issues in our modern political landscape directly affect people who are too young to vote – just look at book bans, gun control, or trans rights. The people who are impacted by these policies deserve the right to vote on them.
Ronan Goeke, 15
If Kamala wants the momentum of young voters on her side, she needs to address the genocide in Gaza and support an arms embargo. Working towards a ceasefire that will not even be effective as long as we are still arming Israel is not a solution we accept.
Payton Nunez, 20
While I cannot vote in this election, I am looking forward to serving as an election judge, and encourage all students aged 16+ to sign up to serve as election judges through Baltimore Votes.
James McLaughlin, 16
Vote to stop the Coppin Project and Cop City
Bonita Tillman, 16
I worked at city council for a little over a year and the council’s response to the protests for Palestine showed little to no compassion or regard for constituent concerns. Both times the meeting was interrupted by a protest, it seemed that council members were more concerned with personal inconvenience rather than the matter at hand. The way that the council handled a ceasefire resolution as a whole was incredibly problematic, and basically concluded with Nick Mosby saying that it wasn’t a city concern and there was nothing we could do about it. I think it is incredibly important that local politicians realize that what they say and the platform that they have is impactful, and that it is unacceptable for them to write off issues simply because they go further than their official jurisdiction.
Arlo Lentini, 17
Pads and tampons should be free. And so should housing. And food.
Lon’don Rock, 18
My main area of interest is improving transportation in our region, whether it’s our transit system or our roads or whatever in between. I’m voting in this election primarily based on the candidates who care about more efficient modes of transport and making our roads safer and built for the people who live on them, just like I did in the primary election. I often feel left out of the traffic calming and improved bike infrastructure brought on by the complete streets law that the rest of the city seems to benefit from a lot more than we do in West Baltimore. I’m hoping that the new city council will shine some light on the needs of my community.
Michiru Daniels, 19
These kinds of surveys are only good for getting a general census of what most people think but I don’t think they do anything. Everyone has been talking about a cease fire since the bombings began over a year ago and nothing has been done besides more publicity for the event. It’s becoming sadder that we’re even still doing surveys like this because all they do is show us the reality we’re facing and do not address the actual issue.
Ka’Mya Tynes, 19
Baltimore has so much potential. Everything we need is right here 😀
Mo Green, 21
The state of many school buildings is terrible. In a place that gets hot and humid like Baltimore schools must receive prioritized funding for functioning AC and secure, updated buildings.
Esther Everson, 21
Go vote
Lyndsay Katz, 22
Youth-led outlets for arts and creativity should continue to be prioritized and uplifted in Baltimore, especially when culture is becoming a major aspect of the city’s social life; though established artists and emerging artists alike definitely have multiple outlets throughout the city and beyond, youth in disadvantaged communities would not usually have this outlets readily available.
Tung (Jamie) Nguyen