BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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Date of Hearing: May 7, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
ACA 7 (Mullin) - As Introduced: February 13, 2013
SUBJECT : Elections: voting age.
SUMMARY : Allows a person who is 17 years old and who will be
18 years old at the time of the next general election to
register and vote in that general election and in any
intervening primary or special election that occurs after the
person registers to vote.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Permits a person who is a United States citizen, a resident of
California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a
felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the next
election to register to vote in any local, state, or federal
election.
2)Allows a person who is at least 17 years old and otherwise
meets all voter eligibility requirements to register to vote.
Provides that the registration will be deemed effective as
soon as the affiant is 18 years old at the time of the next
election. Provides this option will be operative when the
Secretary of State (SOS) certifies that the state has a
statewide voter registration database that complies with
federal law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Constitutional Amendment : According to the
author:
Young voters have the lowest turnout rate of any age
demographic in California. For most young adults, their
first contact with the political process is in high school
through the mandated government class during their senior
year or through volunteering on campaigns for community
service credit. This is the time to give them ownership in
the process by getting them to vote in primaries while they
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still have a connection to their school and community.
This amendment would bring California up to date with the
20 other states (Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington)
that permit any citizen who turns 18 by the date of the
general election to vote in interceding primaries or
caucuses.
2)Consistent with United States Constitution : The Twenty Sixth
Amendment to the United States Constitution states, "The right
of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of
age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any state on account of age."
Additionally, Article II, Section 2 of the California
Constitution states, "A United States citizen 18 years of age
and resident in this State may vote." Because the U.S.
Constitution only addresses abridging the right to vote and
this bill expands voting rights there appears to be no
conflict with the federal constitution. In an opinion dated
April 12, 2004, the Legislative Counsel opined that an
amendment to the California Constitution to permit a person
under the age of 18 to vote would not violate federal law.
3)Other States : According to information provided by the
author's office, the following states have enacted legislation
or passed initiatives to allow 17 year olds to vote in primary
elections: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky,
Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio,
Vermont, and Virginia.
In addition, according to a 2010 report by the National
Conference of State Legislatures, some states allow 17 year
olds to register to vote before turning 18, but do not allow
the person to vote until he or she turns18 years old.
According to the report, the following states allow
pre-registration: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Kansas,
Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island
and Wyoming.
As mentioned above, existing law allows for the pre-registration
of 17 year olds, however pre-registration will not go into
effect until the SOS certifies that the state has a statewide
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voter registration that complies with the requirements of the
federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C Section 15301
et seq.). Therefore, in practice an individual may
register to vote if that person will be 18 years old by the time
of the next election.
4)Arguments in Support : FairVote writes in support:
Allowing voters to participate in a primary connected to a
general election in which they can vote is only common
sense. Maryland's experience with 17-year-old primary
voting is instructive. It has been the state's practice
for several decades. In 2007, however, the State Board of
Elections concluded it violated the state constitution.
Just weeks before the presidential primaries in February
2008, both major parties passed new rules ensuring
17-year-old citizens continued to have the right to vote in
their primary if 18 by November. When the state's highest
court ultimately upheld that practice as constitutional,
both major parties and a wide range of civic groups
applauded the ruling.
Furthermore, by allowing young people to vote in primary
elections at 17, California would make voting more
accessible and give young people more opportunities to
become registered, lifelong voters. The fact that the
state already has a law that will soon allow 17-year-olds
to pre-register to vote will make this cost-free to
administer. 17-year-old primary voting does not require a
new registration database system nor any new software,
equipment, or personnel.
5)Previous Legislation : AB 30 (Price), Chapter 364, Statutes of
2009, allows a person who is 17 years of age to pre-register
to vote, provided he or she would otherwise meet all
eligibility requirements.
ACA 2 (Furutani) of 2009, was substantially similar to this
measure. No vote was taken on the Assembly Floor and the
measure died on the Inactive File.
ACA 17 (Mullin) of 2005 and ACA 25 (Mullin) of 2004, were both
substantially similar to this measure. ACA 17 was approved by
this committee and the Assembly Appropriations Committee, but
no vote was taken on the Assembly Floor and the measure died
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on the Inactive File. ACA 25 was approved by this committee
and the Assembly Appropriations Committee, but failed passage
on the Assembly Floor.
6)Related Legislation : SB 113 (Jackson) authorizes 15, 16, and
17 year olds to pre-register to vote and eliminates an
existing provision of law that authorizes 17 year olds to
pre-register to vote only after implementation of a statewide
voter registration database. SB 113 is pending in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
7)Approval by Voters : As a constitutional amendment, this
measure requires the approval of the voters to take effect.
Legislation making the statutory changes necessary to
implement this measure would also be required.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Federation of Teachers
FairVote
Gary Davis, Mayor, City of Elk Grove
League of Women Voters of California
One Individual
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Nichole Becker / E. & R. / (916)
319-2094