Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

New York Age to Vote in Presidential Primary Amendment (2016)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Age to Vote in Presidential Primary Amendment
Flag of New York.png
TypeAmendment
OriginNew York legislature
TopicSuffrage
StatusNot on the ballot


Not on Ballot
Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot
This measure was not put
on an election ballot

The New York Age to Vote in Presidential Primary Amendment did not make the November 8, 2016 ballot in New York as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment. The measure, upon voter approval, would have allowed a person who will be 18-years old at the time of a presidential election to vote in the preceding presidential primary election. Therefore, someone who is 17 would have been allowed to vote in the presidential primary if that person will be 18 by the presidential election.[1]

Text of measure

Constitutional changes

See also: Article II, New York Constitution

The proposed amendment would alter Section 1 of Article II of the New York Constitution. The following underlined text would be added by the proposed measure's approval:[1]

Every citizen shall be entitled to vote at every election for all officers elected by the people and upon all questions submitted to the vote of the people provided that such citizen is eighteen years of age or over and shall have been a resident of this state, and of the county, city, or village for thirty days next preceding an election; Provided, however, a citizen who is seventeen years of age at the time of a primary election for president of the United States and who will be eighteen years of age at the time of the general election for which such primary election is held shall be eligible to vote in such primary election.[2]

Support

Justification

Sponsors of Bill A00504 included the following "Justification:"[1]

Allowing 17-year-olds who would be 18 by the time of a general

election the opportunity to vote in a primary would be a positive first step as it would allow those individuals who are eligible to vote in November the opportunity to vote for a candidate in the primary, thereby encouraging them to participate in the process. Voting is a basic obligation of being a United States citizen. It only makes sense to get our young people involved and invite them to take part in the election process. Furthermore, this bill would address a shocking inequity in our laws that allow a 17 year old to eligible to enlist in the armed forces and fight in a war but not have the ability to vote.

A grass roots group called Rock the Vote, founded over twenty years ago, encourages young voters to register and vote and to engage in politics. It has expanded its campaign to high school seniors and supports voting in presidential primaries if 17 year old's will turn 18 by the general election. Rock the Vote is dedicated to building the political power of young people by engaging them in the electoral process and urging politicians to pay attention to issues that matter to young voters.

Currently about half of the states allow 17 year old primary voting. Other states allow 17 year old primary voting in a presidential year which is the objective of this legislation.[2]

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the New York Constitution

According to the New York Constitution, a majority vote is required in two successive sessions of the New York State Legislature in order to qualify the amendment for the ballot. The legislature did not act on the measure before adjourning on June 16, 2016.

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 New York General Assembly, "A00504," accessed January 21, 2015
  2. 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content