SCA2- One step closer to extending voting rights

May 8, 2023

SCA2- One step closer to extending voting rights

SACRAMENTO- California may be the first state to extend voting rights to all 17-year-olds. Los Angeles Senator Henry Stern is leading the movement to engage young voters by motivating young adults in high school to get to the polls. 

Twenty-two states, including the District of Columbia, permit 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections or caucuses if the voter turns 18 before the general election. “We need to take it further in California, amend the state constitution with SCA 2 and give 17-year-olds the right to vote, period,” said Senator Henry Stern. 

Young voters (ages 18-24 years old) in the state have the lowest turnout rate of any age demographic. This legislation will build civic habits while students still have connection to their hometowns. In the 2022 general election, voters under 35 represented 27% of eligible voters and only 15% of ballots cast. The low turnout of young voters is partly due to the fact that they enter voting eligibility at a time of drastic transition, including going to college or getting a job. Lowering the voting age to 17 will catch youth at a time when they are still connected to their school and their community, building a lifelong habit of voting.

“If we can ask 17-year-olds to pay taxes, join our military, and allow 16-year-olds to drive a car, then we must surely trust them to vote,” said Senator Henry Stern. A robust body of evidence from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs demonstrates that 16- and 17-year-olds have the cognitive skills and civic knowledge to vote responsibly. As a result, there has been a nationwide movement to engage youth earlier in the electoral process.  

Today, SCA 2 made it through the California Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee and will be on its way to the California Senate Appropriations Committee. The passage of SCA 2 would allow California to pave the way toward a stronger democracy.