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to what is a legal age of majority. The
Committee did study and consider the
whole question. We decided first of all, it
was not relevant. Secondly, we decided that
it was a problem for the General Assembly
to decide and; thirdly, that to try it auto-
matically for all purposes was a little ridic-
ulous. Finally, the answer of the Committee
was that this was the business of the
General Assembly.
In those states where they have lowered
the voting age, let me tell all of you lest
you have any fear of eighteen-year-olds
running the State, in those states where the
voting age was lowered, the drinking age
is still twenty-one. In terms of children,
there were children that came to the com-
mittee room. May I remind Delegate Ryb-
czynski that these were not nineteen-year-
olds. They were a group of children be-
tween the ages of eleven and seventeen.
In conclusion, I think the Committee has
had evidence to support its position of low-
ering the age to nineteen. I think the ele-
ment of responsibility and independence
and the ability to cast an informed vote
has been demonstrated to us and I would
very much urge that you reject the mi-
nority amendment. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: That ends the period
of controlled debate.
Delegate Hutchinson, do you desire to
offer your amendment next?
DELEGATE HUTCHINSON: I do.
THE CHAIRMAN: Pages will please
distribute Amendment X.
For what purpose does Delegate Storm
rise?
DELEGATE STORM: To fill in the time,
Mr. Chairman.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Storm, the
Chair would like to inquire whether that
is a matter of personal privilege.
DELEGATE STORM: Yes. I think you
would want to welcome former Senator,
now Judge, George Rasin from Kent
County, also former Senator and former
Chairman of the Public Service Commis-
sion and member of the Constitutional Con-
vention Commission, Honorable Stanford
Hoff and former Senator, now Judge, Ed-
ward Weant who was there but has left the
floor and will not be here to observe the
vote. I think you can vote in Carroll
County without any fear of his being angry
about your vote.
(Applause.)
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THE CHAIRMAN: Delighted to have
them.
Amendment X is now being distributed
and will be marked Amendment No. 1-A to
Amendment No. 1. The Clerk will read the
amendment.
READING CLERK: Amendment No.
1-A to Amendment No. 1 to Committee Rec-
ommendation S&E-2 by Delegates Hutch-
inson and Schloeder: On page 1 of the
amendment in line 4 strike out the word
"twenty-one" and insert in lieu thereof the
word "eighteen".
THE CHAIRMAN: Amendment submit-
ted by Delegate Hutchinson and seconded
by Delegate Schloeder. The Chair recog-
nizes Delegate Hutchinson.
DELEGATE RYBCZYNSKI: Mr. Chair-
man.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Rybczynski.
DELEGATE RYBCZYNSKI: I am sorry.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Hutchinson.
DELEGATE HUTCHINSON: Before I
speak in favor of eighteen over nineteen
and eighteen over twenty-one, I would like
to make one small point, that I am the
only delegate on this floor who is still of
the magic age. I am the only delegate on
this floor who is still twenty-one years old.
Indeed it is a magic age. The reason that
it is a magic age is because last December
31 I was given the right to vote. I am
proud to say that the first vote I ever cast
was for myself.
(Applause.)
Mr. Mudd asked me if I was married,
if I had any children. I said no. He said
sit down.
(Laughter.)
I submit I am not going to sit down. I
believe strongly in this issue, and I am
going to speak in favor of lowering the
age to eighteen.
When I first came to this Convention,
when I first came to Annapolis, I thought
that we were here to rewrite the constitu-
tion, not reform a government. We have
reformed a government. I say now is the
chance to get out some of this dead wood
in the constitution, the dead wood that we
came here to get out. I say that an
eighteen-year-old minimum age is one that
will get out the dead wood.
I am very proud that this Committee on
Suffrage and Elections voted to lower the
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