SWAMPSCOTT — The town is working double-time trying to generate ways to increase voter turnout and get younger residents involved.
Last year, Swampscott’s Town Meeting approved the creation of a Town Election Review Committee to make recommendations to the Select Board and Town Meeting with the ambition of making potential changes in municipal elections as the committee seeks to examine the current level of communal interest.
The committee has lined up several key changes. It will seek to change the minimum voting age, the minimum eligibility age to be elected to municipal office, the date and duration of municipal elections, and the requirement of early voting in municipal elections.
The committee will also look at ways to include voters of all ages, how to gain interest in local candidates, and how to increase discourse about matters facing the town, according to the town’s newsletter.
Thirteen members from different committees comprise the Town Election Review Committee. It includes members from the Select Board, School Committee, Swampscott for All Ages, Commission on Disability, a resident and registered voter between 18-22, two 16 and 17-year-old residents, and one registered voter from each of the six precincts.
After the committee’s first meeting, Marta Sirota and Anna Mexatos were elected by fellow committee members as the new co-chairs of the committee.
During previous meetings, the committee discussed ways to create movement with the ideas and goals that were presented. The committee noted that approximately 19% of the town is either under 18 or over 65 and that 18 to 25-year-olds had the lowest voting numbers.
One proposal put forward was the inclusion of a Youth Council, as the committee seeks to reduce the minimum voting age to include 16 and 17-year-olds. The points were raised that schools like Melrose High School hold mock elections, Swampscott High School student council elections are held by email, and all students gather in the assembly area to hear each candidate speak.
Going forward, the committee intends to focus on finding more detailed patterns of town voting and gathering information from surrounding communities on how they conduct municipal elections.
