California Voting for 17-Year-Olds Amendment (2020)
| California Voting for 17-Year-Olds Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Suffrage | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The California Voting for 17-Year-Olds Amendment was not on the ballot in California as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
The ballot measure would have amended Article II of the California Constitution to lower the voting age from 18 to 17.[1]
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article II, California Constitution
The measure would have amended Section 2 of Article II of the California Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]
A United States citizen 18 who is at least 17 years of age and resident in this State may vote.[2]
Support
Arguments
- Generation Citizen submitted an argument in support of the constitutional amendment, which said, "Like many states, California suffers from low voter participation. Extending voting rights to 17-year-olds can spur a long-term increase in turnout, because voting is habitual, and research shows that age 17 is a better time than 18 to establish the habit. California has already taken important steps to encourage youth engagement, including allowing 16-year-olds to preregister to vote and establishing High School Voter Education Weeks. ACA 8 builds on these efforts with a solution that has proven effective in the dozen countries that allow voting by citizens under age 18, and in the municipalities in the United States that have taken such a step."[1]
Opposition
Arguments
- Election Integrity Project California, Inc. filed an argument in opposition to the constitutional amendment, which said, "17-year-olds are legal minors. Under that definition, they are still considered children. They are almost all still living at home and under the strong influence of their parents. This is not conducive to independent thought and voting without undue pressure from their immediate superiors… 17- year-olds will almost always still be in high school, and under the strong influence of their teachers. This again makes it less likely that they would be expressing their own, independently thought-out choices were they to be allowed to vote."[1]
Background
26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
On July 1, 1971, the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The 26th Amendment added the following language to the U.S. Constitution:
Section 1. 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.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.[2]
According to a California Assembly Floor Analysis, published on August 16, 2019, "Because the US Constitution only addresses abridging the right to vote and this measure 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."[1]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the California Constitution
In California, a two-thirds vote is needed in each chamber of the California State Legislature to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.
Asm. Evan Low (D-28), Asm. Randy Voepel (R-71), and Asm. Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-80) introduced the constitutional amendment as Assembly Concurrent Resolution 8 (ACA 8) during the 2019 legislative session. On August 26, 2019, the California State Assembly approved ACA 4 in a vote of 57-16. ACA 8 did not receive a vote in the California State Senate before the deadline on June 25, 2020.[1]
| Vote in the California State Assembly | |||
| Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber | |||
Number of yes votes required: 54  | |||
| Yes | No | Not voting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 57 | 16 | 6 |
| Total percent | 72.15% | 20.25% | 7.60% |
| Democrat | 54 | 3 | 4 |
| Republican | 3 | 13 | 2 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
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