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the rostrum we have today Ralph Hostet-
ter, Delegate to the Constitutional Con-
vention.
(Applause.)
THE CHAIRMAN: This will be Amend-
ment No. 3.
The Clerk will read the amendment.
READING CLERK: Amendment No. 3
to Committee Recommendation S&E-2 by
Delegates Cardin and Dulany:
On page 1 section 1 Eligible Voters in
Federal, State and County Elections in
line 9 strike out the words "nineteen years"
and insert in lieu thereof the words: "legal
majority as determined by the General As-
sembly".
THE CHAIRMAN : The amendment hav-
ing been offered by Delegate Cardin, sec-
onded by Delegate Dulany, the Chair rec-
ognizes Delegate Cardin to speak to the
amendment.
DELEGATE CARDIN: Mr. Chairman,
I bring this amendment to the attention
of the Committee of the Whole because I
think we should establish for the record
whether or not the voting age is a full de-
terminant of adult responsibility.
I yield to Delegate Dulany, if I may.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Koss.
DELEGATE KOSS: Mr. Chairman and
members of the Committee of the Whole,
again let me state that the Committee did
consider the whole question of the age of
majority and its significance or its rele-
vance to the age for voting.
There are at the moment, as I said be-
fore, many different legal ages. You have
already approved setting the voting age at
nineteen. The adoption of this amendment
would throw back the question of the voting
age to the General Assembly. That aspect
of the voting age was also considered by
the Committee, and we felt that the voting
age probably was a concern of the Consti-
tutional Convention and that that decision
should be made here.
Actually, what the adoption of this
amendment would do would be to negate
the decision you have already made as to
the voting age and to give that responsi-
bility to the General Assembly.
I sincerely urge that you reject Amend-
ment No. 4.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Dulany.
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DELEGATE DULANY: Mr. Chairman,
fellow Delegates, the only purpose of this
amendment is to make certain that all the
voters of this State are full citizens of the
State exercising full privileges of citizen-
ship.
If we have decided we want to have the
voting age reduced to twenty or nineteen
or eighteen, whatever age it is, I think
that that citizen ought to have all the
rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
I believe the right to vote is related to
the capacity for being a good citizen and
knowing what your responsibilities are. I
do not believe we should have people who
are voting who do not have the responsi-
bilities that everyone else has.
I, therefore, urge you to support the
amendment.
This amendment will leave it up to the
legislature to determine what the voting
age is. By setting the legal majority as it
stands at the present time, in this State
it is twenty-one; the voting age, if the pro-
vision is adopted as recommended, would
be nineteen. So we would have people be-
tween the ages of nineteen and twenty-one
who would be voting who would not have
full privileges of citizenship.
I urge you to support the amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Finch, the
Chair has just been handed your amend-
ment A-C. I think it could be offered as an
amendment to the pending amendment. If
the pending amendment is adopted, I do
not believe your amendment could be of-
fered. If the pending amendment is re-
jected, your amendment could be thereafter
offered.
What is your pleasure?
DELEGATE FINCH: I would like to
offer it.
THE CHAIRMAN: When?
DELEGATE FINCH: Now if you say
now is the proper time.
THE CHAIRMAN: I gave you a choice.
I say if you do not offer it now and Amend-
ment No. 3 is rejected, you could offer it.
If Amendment No. 3 is adopted, you could
not offer it.
DELEGATE FINCH: I will defer it.
THE CHAIRMAN: Do what?
DELEGATE FINCH: Defer it.
THE CHAIRMAN: Very well.
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