California may soon join a growing number of other states in allowing some 17-year-olds to vote in primary and special elections under a proposed amendment to the state constitution approved Thursday by the state Assembly.
If two-thirds of state senators agree, the measure would go before voters in California’s March primary election, but would not affect next year’s elections. It would apply to 17-year-old U.S. citizens living in California who would turn 18 before the following general election.
The measure passed, 57-13, over objections from Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher of Nicolaus, who argued it was a ploy to lure more Democratic-leaning young voters.
“It is being veiled as something that helps expand the franchise,” but “has mostly a more political ulterior motive in the long term,” Gallagher said. “That’s what is really going on here.”
Democratic Assemblyman Kevin Mullin of San Francisco, who introduced the amendment, said the practice has been adopted in other states that lean Republican, and that the goal of his measure is to “empower California’s youngest voters” and encourage a habit of life-long voting and civic engagement.