Vt. hopes to allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries Teen must turn 18 by general election
Vermont lawmakers are considering a amendment to the state constitution that would allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries if they are going to turn 18 before the general election.
“We know the youth vote has traditionally been lower than other groups,” said Senator Jeanette White, Democrat of Windham. She is chairwoman of the Senate Government Operations Committee and principal backer of the measure in the Senate, which passed it last week.
“By bringing the youth into the process earlier, lifetime we’ll be making them out of voters,” White said.
If the measure survives the arduous process for amendments to the state Constitution, Vermont would follow 19 other states that already allow young people who will turn 18 before a general election to vote in primaries.
Eighteen the voting age is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, but primaries are functions of the states and of political parties.
Young people have shown increased interest in voting this year, especially with the close contest for the Democratic nomination of the president, said Secretary of State Deborah L. Markowitz, Vermont’s chief election officer.
“They want to vote,” said Markowitz. “If someone votes when they are young, they are more likely to keep on voting throughout the rest of their life. I am pleased the Senate supported this, and I hope the House does, too.”
Both the state Democratic and Republican parties support the measure.
“Our position is that it is great to see young people involved and voting,” said Robert Roper, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party.
Amendments to the state Constitution need to pass the Senate by a two-thirds margin and the House by a simple majority, they need to be passed by simple majorities in both chambers in the next legislative biennium and then be put before the voters in a statewide referendum.
In New Hampshire, lawmakers plan to ask the state Supreme Court whether a proposed law to allow 17-year-olds to vote is legal.
The question is whether the change would be prohibited by the state Constitution, which grants the right to vote to residents identified as “18 years of age and upwards.”
The attorney general’s office recommended the Legislature take the issue to the court.
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