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DELEGATE BAMBERGER: I think
there is obvious logic for allowing a mu-
nicipal corporation to have a different re-
quirement of residency, because of the
mobility of population, the smaller size of
the geographic area of municipalities, and
the nature of the issues of the municipali-
ties which would tend not to be the sub-
ject of mass media, of television and of the
state-wide newspapers.
I see considerable logic behind the re-
quirement that one might be required to
live longer in a municipality. I think also,
as we discussed before, there is some logic
to the idea that people who own taxable
property but do not reside in municipalities
should be allowed to vote. I can defend
those deviations from a state-wide prac-
tice on logical grounds that are applicable
to municipalities, but except for the sug-
gestion of experimentation which Delegate
Gullett has stated, I see no reason why the
age to vote should be lower in a municipali-
ty than it is in any other part of the State.
If the object is experimentation, then
perhaps we shall allow the municipalities
to state either a higher or lower age, and I
can see some argument for the proposition
that the municipality should be able to
state a higher age, particularly in those
municipalities which are college towns,
although I do not think that is the prob-
lem because I do not think anyone would
say to us that the student who comes there
only to go to school is a resident.
I do think we would introduce consider-
able confusion into the laws if we allow
municipalities to enfranchise eighteen,
seventeen and sixteen year olds and down
as far as you want to go. People would
understand that they are voters in some
elections but not in others.
Unless someone can point to some com-
pelling reasons why the issues in a mu-
nicipal election are different, so different
from the issues in any other statewide
election that we should allow people
younger than nineteen to vote, I hope we
would support the principle of uniformity
with respect to age.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Koss, do
you desire to speak to the amendment to
the amendment?
DELEGATE KOSS: Mr. Chairman and
fellow delegates, the reason that the ma-
jority Committee Report does include a
provision allowing this flexibility of the
municipalities was just because the point
was made to the Committee and the Com-
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mittee found it persuasive, that municipali-
ties should be permitted the opportunity to
explore new procedures, that these were
controlled, and that municipalities were
rather small geographic areas, and it was
very easy for all the citizens to be aware
of what decisions were being decided by
their government, and if the municipalities
wanted to lower the voting age, they should
be permitted to do so.
The whole Committee Recommendation is
in a sense a balance between the recognized
need for uniformity and the recognized
need for the localities to decide the issues
that were important to them.
The Committee felt the municipalities
should be allowed this leeway in voter age.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak in favor of the amendment?
(There was no response.)
If not, the Chair recognizes Delegate
Gullett.
DELEGATE GULLETT: I submit again
that my amendment solves the problem of
both Mr. Bamberger and Delegate Koss. If
you will notice my wording, it does the
same thing as Delegate Koss', but it is in
the reverse direction.
The majority would say they would pro-
vide a minimum voting age, to lower the
voting age. I say they cannot establish it
at more than nineteen years, and I point
out that the General Assembly, if some mu-
nicipalities are allowing thirteen-and-a-
half-year-olds to vote, can step in and es-
tablish a minimum age of nineteen years
by general law. They cannot establish a
minimum age of twenty. They could step in
and control the situation. This amendment
allows total flexibility and control by the
state.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any other dele-
gate desire to speak in favor of the amend-
ment to the amendment?
(There was no response.)
If not, the Chair recognizes Delegate
Koss.
DELEGATE KOSS: I have to rise and
disagree with Delegate Gullett. The way I
read it, the general law would have no au-
thority to step in except by constitutional
amendment in terms of the age.
Am I wrong in that?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gullett.
DELEGATE GULLETT: You are
wrong.
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