Law Would Engage More Teens in Voting

It has been a tough year for California. The Golden State, known for decades as an innovator and agent of change, had to issue IOUs to pay its debts. Investment in the future, which used to be California's guiding vision, has taken a back seat to plugging the many holes in the leaky dike of our antiquated institutions.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature would be wise to look for strategic, low-cost, modestly ambitious ways to improve the state and prepare for the future. They are not always easy to spot, but they are out there. One is Assembly Bill 30, which currently sits on the governor's desk, awaiting his signature.

AB 30 would lower the voter registration age to 17. When these preregistrants turn 18, they would be automatically registered to vote.

Preregistration would cost hardly anything and would do many good things for California that help prepare our state for the future.

For starters, preregistration would bring greater uniformity and consistency to the registration process. Under current state law, some 17-year-olds already can preregister if they will turn 18 before the next election. But all other 17-year-olds cannot. A person who will turn 18 on Nov. 1 can preregister, but another who will turn 18 on Nov. 10 cannot. This creates confusion and leads to uneven and ineffective implementation. By simplifying the registration requirements so that all 17-year-olds can preregister, it will help streamline election administration.

But if we think about California's future, AB 30 is important for other reasons. Young people are tomorrow's leaders who will one day be responsible for the economic and political well-being of our state. Yet they are staying away from the polls in droves. Almost half of California's eligible voters in the critical 18-24 age bracket are not even registered to vote.

Lowering the registration age to 17 would provide young people with the opportunity to be involved in the democratic process at a critical stage in their development. Research has shown that people who are involved in the political process at an earlier age are much more likely to become lifelong voters. Voting, it turns out, is habit-forming.

Preregistration for all 17-year-olds also would encourage high schools to become more actively engaged in the important task of civic education.

Although high schools already provide instruction in social studies, government and history, these subjects would gain immediacy and greater relevancy when they are absorbed not just by students, but by high school seniors who are registered voters. Students who are registered voters are more likely to think of themselves not just as students but as future adults responsible for their communities.

While many schools already provide students with opportunities to engage in mock elections, moot court and model U.N. programs, voter registration goes beyond these simulations to directly involve students in the democratic process. High schools could combine voter registration drives with "voter's ed," visits from local elected leaders and other vehicles of engagement designed to boost youth involvement. Preregistration also would foster all-important peer-to-peer outreach, allowing eager students to engage their fellow students in a way adults can't always do.

The benefits of preregistration extend beyond the high school. One study found that in Florida, which has the longest history with preregistration, not only do a substantial number of preregistrants remain on the voter rolls for many years after they start voting, but these individuals are also more likely to vote than their colleagues who register after they turn 18. An even greater positive impact was seen among young African American voters.

Conversely, if young people don't register to vote, they often get locked in a "disengagement cycle" in which, because they are not on the voter rolls, it is nearly impossible for candidates or political organizations to contact them directly. And in return, young people remain unregistered because the candidates never engage them. That vicious cycle becomes increasingly difficult to break. For those who do not go on to college, high schools represent the final opportunity to fully engage young people before they lose any institutional connection that can facilitate such engagement.

Preregistration of young voters is a nonpartisan idea embraced across the political spectrum. Similar laws have been adopted in Democratic states like Connecticut and Hawaii as well as swing states like Missouri and Iowa, and Republican states like Texas and Florida. In Florida, it was popular enough that Gov. Charlie Crist extended preregistration to 16-year-olds.

California's legislative analysts have concluded that AB 30 could be implemented with little cost to taxpayers. In passing AB 30, the Legislature has presented Schwarzenegger with a golden opportunity to leave a legacy of civic engagement. The future of California is in the hands of our youth, and now their future is in the hands of our governor.