Lowering the Voting Age in California

California is closer than ever to allowing younger citizens to participate in voting. More and more young people are speaking up and marching for their beliefs. From causes like Black Lives Matter, Youth Climate Strike, and March of Our Lives, teens are getting involved and inspired to take action.

An article in Teen Vogue showed that teens are supporting the Assembly Constitutional Amendment Eight (ACA-8) which will allow 17-year-olds to vote in worldwide elections. The bill has passed the assembly and is currently headed to senate where, if it passes, it will head to the president for a final vote (Okeke & Sanchez, 2019).

Another bill, Assembly Constitutional Amendment Four (ACA-4) would allow 17-year-olds to vote in California Presidential Primaries, if they would turn 18-years-old by the time of the general election.

These bills are not new but they have been gaining in popularity as teens are being introduced to politics earlier and with more intensity than in the past. According to https://a22.asmdc.org/article/aca-4-vote-17-year-olds, ACA-4 was introduced by former Assembly Member Gene Mullin over 30 years ago, and has been reintroduced by his son, Assembly Member Kevin Mullin. It did not receive a sufficient number of votes to pass the first time around, but things have changed and the current bill has received a lot of support.

Allowing younger individuals to vote allows them to have a voice in current issues and lets them have an impact on their future.

Sources:

• Okeke, T., & Sanchez, L. (2019, August 28). California Is Taking Steps to Lower The Voting Age – Here’s Why. Retrieved from https://www.teenvogue.com/story/california-bill-lower-voting-age-17-passes-assembly
• ACA 4 – The vote for 17 year olds. (2019, August 29). Retrieved from https://a22.asmdc.org/article/aca-4-vote-17-year-olds