Palm Beach Post, May 27, 2003

By Lauren Gold, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 27, 2003

Miranda Rosenberg's phone has been ringing a lot lately.

Her mother answers when Rosenberg is in school. "Are you calling to talk to Miranda about the Baltimore election?" she asks.

It might sound like an odd question, coming from the mother of a Suncoast High School sophomore. But Miranda Rosenberg will be watching this fall's primary for the mayoral election in Baltimore as closely as anyone in Maryland.

Rosenberg is the force behind a drive to lower the voting age in Florida to 16. It's a proposal that has drawn strong opinions on both sides.

Supporters argue that 16- and 17-year-olds pay taxes, hold a stake in the outcome of elections and therefore should have a voice. Opponents say kids under 18 are not mature enough to make such weighty choices.

But because it's never been done in this country, no one really knows what would happen (if anything) if 16-year-olds were given the vote.

That's where Baltimore comes in.

No one in Baltimore intended to give 16-year-olds a vote in the mayor's race. But because of a glitch in election law, that's what happened.

When the city's voters approved a referendum to move the mayoral election to coincide with the presidential election, most people assumed that the primary date would be moved correspondingly. But moving the primary date is the responsibility of the state legislature, which never got around to the task. The primary date is Sept. 9, 2003 -- 14 months before the general election.

In Maryland anyone who will be 18 by the date of the general election is allowed to vote in the primary. This means that in September, thousands of 16- and 17-year-olds will be eligible to vote.

Rosenberg knows it's more of a happy accident than a victory. But she also hopes the Baltimore election will bring attention to the issue -- and dispel the fears of people who worry that letting 16-year-olds vote would lead to chaos.

"I'll be watching out for the turnout (in Baltimore) among those who are younger," she said. And she'll be in touch with election officials beforehand to talk about increasing awareness and encouraging teens to come to the polls.

In the meantime, though, she's pushing ahead with her efforts in Florida.

In an April 20 speech to the Broward Democratic Party, she pointed out a state in Germany that lowered its voting age to 16 in 1996.

"Sixteen- and 17-year-olds turned out in significantly higher percentages than 18- to 24-year-olds," she said.

And more parents would vote if their kids encouraged it, she added. "Lowering the voting age to 16 would increase voter turnout among older age groups. Teens would discuss politics with their parents and encourage them to turn out at the polls and vote as well.... Voter turnout in the 1998 elections was the lowest it's been in over 50 years. Only 36.1 percent of the voting age population came to the polls. Low turnout like this threatens the foundation of democracy our country is built on."

Rosenberg has four years to collect the 489,000 signatures she needs to bring the issue before the State Supreme Court (she's collected just over 1,000 so far through her Web site, www.voteat16.com).

So, even though she doesn't have much at stake in the outcome of the Baltimore mayoral primary, the process, she says, could be an example of Florida elections to come.