Published in the Current
Rep. Larry Bliss, D-Cape Elizabeth and South Portland, is the lead co-sponsor of a bill that would lower Maine’s voting age to 17. He and bill sponsor Rep. Glenn Cummings, D-Portland, have been touring the area talking to high school students about it.
The reaction has been mixed, Bliss said. The 18-year-olds in the classes aren’t impressed by the idea, while the 17-year-olds really like it. Bliss said he and
Cummings, both former high school history and government teachers, want to make government more accessible to young people.
“If you’re 17 years old when you’re learning about how the government works, you ought to be able to have a say in it,” Bliss said. Further, many 17-year-olds in Maine are paying income tax and have no voice in how that money is spent.