Bill allowing 17-year-olds the right to vote held up
SACRAMENTO — A constitutional amendment that would allow 17-year-olds to vote has been pulled from the Assembly floor for fear that Republicans may be strategizing how to quash it, sources said.
ACA25, introduced by Assemblymember Gene Mullin (D-South San Francisco), would allow 17-year-olds to register and vote in federal, state and local primary, and special elections if they will be 18 at the time of the next general election.
The bill was supposed to be heard on the Assembly floor this week, but was held up by Mullin. It may be heard next week. Sources said Mullin wants to wait to see how much support he has from Democrats, which he will gauge on Tuesday during the Democratic Caucus, said Santa Monica City Councilman Kevin McKeown, a supporter of the bill.
“If all the Democrats are with him, he needs six Republicans,” McKeown said, adding that he heard the bill is on what’s called a “triple star oppose status” by Republicans. That means if a Republican votes in favor of the bill, they could face political fallout from their fellow party members.
Mullin couldn’t be reached for comment. The bill needs 55 percent of the vote to pass the Assembly floor before it moves to the Senate.
Some say Republicans fear that young voters lean toward the left and have much more liberal ideals than their party does. If there is an influx of young, registered voters, they could theoretically change the outcome of a primary.
Under current California law, 17-year-olds must turn 18 by the first week in March, denying hundreds of thousands of students the power to pick the nominees that will appear on the November ballot.
McKeown also said that the primary happens senior year for most high school-ers. And, if they are given a stake in the process when they still have ties to their home communities — before they go to college or leave looking for work — they are more likely to be regular voters.
For 17-year-old Victoria Toumanoff, a staff writer on the opinion page for The Samohi — Santa Monica High School’s student newspaper — the opportunity to vote would be welcomed with open arms. But she wondered whether her peers are informed enough to vote responsibly.
“The problem with being 17 and 18 is that you are just getting involved in politics and don’t know what’s going on,” she said. “They don’t have the knowledge yet and many of them just swallow what they hear.”
Toumanoff said she is an independent. Her brother is a Marine stationed at Camp Pendelton and is on his way to Iraq for the second time. He was stationed in Iraq before the war and is headed back there.
“It’s hell, you don’t know what’s going on because we won’t hear from him for a month, and then he’ll call and say he’s calling from one of Saddam’s palaces,” Toumanoff said.
She also said she thinks most young people are liberal Democrats.
“It’s harder to come out as a young Republican than a young homosexual,” Toumanoff said.
ACA 25 has been approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee and the Assembly Elections, and the Redistricting and Constitutional Amendments Committee.
California would join Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Nebraska, Arizona, Kansas, Virginia, Ohio, Delaware and Maryland in allowing the 17-year-old vote in primary elections. Iowa permits 17-year-olds to participate in the presidential caucuses. The United States Constitution allows states to lower the voting age.
“I’d like to see government class become a living lesson for every California high school senior” said Mullin, a 32-year high school government teacher. “Committed lifelong participation in the electoral process starts with your first vote. Young adults who are comfortable exercising their right to vote are more likely to increase their civic responsibilities.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 29, 2004. Read the original PDF.