A state Assembly member proposed a bill Wednesday that would allow 17-year-old Californians to vote in state primary elections.
Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, D-San Mateo, proposed ACA 7 to encourage a habit of regular voting among the next generation of young voters. If passed, the bill would amend the state constitution to allow 17-year-olds who turn 18 by the next general election to vote in the state’s primary elections.
“They’ll be knowledgeable about who the candidates are in the general election,” Mullin said of young people who would be affected by his bill.
FairVote, a national organization advocating for election reform, supports the bill and its goals. Rob Richie, executive director of FairVote, said that voting at a younger age often leads to increased participation later on.
“Studies show youth will vote if asked to do so — this policy will increase youth engagement in the political process by creating an ethos of participation from a younger age,” Richie said. “Once a person votes, that person is likely to vote again.”
Assemblymember Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks, opposes this bill on the grounds that voting responsibility should be reserved for those of legal age.
“I don’t think we should allow people to vote until they are at a legally responsible age of 18,” Donnelly said.
He said that there needs to be a clear distinction between what is accepted as legal responsibility and as personal responsibility.
Donnelly added that the percentage of young voters is already high and that the amount of youth participation in elections has increased over past years.
Mullin’s father, former assemblymember Gene Mullin, proposed a similar bill in 2008, which failed to garner the two-thirds majority it needed to go before Californian voters. Now that the Democrats have a supermajority in the Legislature, Mullin has hope that this bill will pass.
Mullin’s father was a high school civics teacher who wanted to make sure his students were ready to vote when they graduated. Mullin said the inspiration for the bill came from his father’s efforts to encourage youth to be engaged in politics.
Stephanie Djidjev, a 17-year-old UC Berkeley freshman, said she thinks that 17-year-olds are mature enough to vote.
“If they have a right to vote in the general election, why not give them the chance to participate?” Djidjev said.
Djidjev said that she thinks this bill would encourage younger voters to participate and pay more attention to politics. She said that if given the chance, she definitely would have taken the opportunity to vote in the primaries.
Mullin’s proposed bill follows a series of bills recently proposed by Democratic lawmakers to increase youth participation in elections. Mullin said that he wants the issue of voter turnout to be more important than partisan conflicts.
Contact Tara Hurley at [email protected]