From our friends at Young Voter Strategies:
States Moving to Encourage Youth Vote
Several state officials are pushing legislation that would help expand young voters' access to and involvement in elections.
In Minnesota and Michigan, Secretaries of State Mark Ritchie and Terri Lynn Land are proposing that any citizen be automatically registered to vote when obtaining a drivers' license - including 16-year-olds, who would be "pre-registered." Upon turning 18 - which would remain the voting age - the state would then add that person to the voting rolls and send a registration card to his or her address.
The proposal could greatly increase the number of young adults registered and voting.
"If there's any time you can't keep 16-year-olds away from a Secretary of State's office, it's when they're old enough for the state's graduated driver licensing program," as the Kalamazoo Gazette put it in a recent editorial.
The Minnesota plan proposes a second change that would impact young adults, the most mobile segment of society. The proposal is to automatically update a registered voters' address when they move and file a change of address form through the Postal Service; currently, a voter must re- register with each move. Given young adults' mobility rates and research showing that voter turnout is lower for individuals who have moved in the six months prior to an election, steamlining this process could play a significant role in increasing young voter registration and turnout.
A similar idea is moving through the Maryland state legislature. Sen. Jamin Raskin (D- Montgomery) introduced a bill to allow 16-year- olds to pre-register to vote. In addition, the legislation encourages voter registration drives at Maryland high schools.
For more information, see Minnesota Secretary of State, Michigan Secretary of State, Maryland State Senate
posted by Hans Riemer at 1:54 PM
2 Comments:
Getting the youth out to vote is probably one of the most admirable endeavors currently being pursued in the field of politics; it is perhaps second only to providing historically and currently disenfranchised minorities with the opportunity. Nonetheless, the effects of the actions entailed by the Minnesota Plan are somewhat dubious. While more young people would become registered to vote, what guarantees does the plan provide that the registered youth will actually exercise their privilege, right, and duty? It is true that “steamlining this process could play a significant role in increasing young voter registration and turnout,” however, will the measure pack the potency it promises? Hopefully yes, but it is uncertain. It is probably more effective to better educate the youth and focus their attention on the political process than to simply make voting easier. Although easier access to ballots may get a few more youth to cast their votes, greater information about politics and its importance to young people’s daily lives will certainly inspire more future leaders of tomorrow to engage in government making. Furthermore, when it comes to delivering this information to the youthful masses, nothing works better than the power of mass media, namely comedy; in this case, funny programs such as the Daily Show and Colbert Report skillfully attract young people to politics while maintaining an aloof and amusing appearance. If greater numbers of young people dedicate some time to these programs or similar ones, the provisions of the Minnesota Plan would greatly alter voter turn out; these shows would inspire and provide young people with the motivation both to vote and to educate themselves about politics, positions, and perspectives prior to voting.
I agree with Thomas on the issue of getting the youth out to vote. It is easy enough to register young people to vote but that does not necessarily mean that voter turn out will be increased. There is a lack of political knowledge and the role politics play in our daily life that goes unnoticed and obscures the importance of voting. That lack of knowledge or perhaps interest is where this plan falters the most. The main focus of this plan becomes, getting numbers, not getting informed. If there was a better outlet or if the youth became more engaged, informed of the political awareness and the issues that directly effected them, (making college affordable)it would be easier to attract voters.
Additionally, it can be argued that this plan, distorts the system by giving false hope for elections. Automatically registering everyone to vote doesn't reflect genuine interest in taking the initiative to participate in elections. This system would take away responsibility of actively participating and replacing the human aspect of voting with technology. Perhaps that is the future of a society that is one click away from having anything at their finger tips.
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