SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Should 17-year-olds be allowed to vote? That’s one of the many questions California voters will have to answer when they cast their ballot.
If passed, Proposition 18, which is a constitutional amendment, will allow 17-year-olds who will turn 18 by the general election to vote in primaries and special elections.
Victoria Dinov, a Prop 18 supporter and first time voter, is looking forward to finally being eligible to cast a ballot in the upcoming election.
Dinov is a first-year student at UC Berkeley and believes that people her age should have a say about what gets placed on the November ballot.
While it may be her first time voting, civic engagement is nothing new for the college freshman.
“I’m really excited that after all these years of being politically engaged, my voice is not only going to be heard but counted,” Dinov said.
She’s spent the last two years working with legislators and youth-led organizations to help change our laws in hopes of encouraging younger people to vote.
“Habit forming is the most important part about voting in general, because once you know how to vote, you don’t forget. But the point is, you have to learn how to vote, you have to learn how to access the resources, where the polling stations are,” Dinov explained.
The earlier that teens get involved, the better chances they have to be lifelong voters, she says. Dinov believes it’s time California joins the 18 other states that allow 17-year-olds who will turn 18 by November to vote in a primary or special election.
A yes vote on Proposition 18 will give youth an opportunity to have a say about who and what gets on the ballot.
“If we’re able to enlist in the military and die for our country, work for wages and pay taxes to our government, drive a car where the safety of others is affected around us, we should also have a say in how we do all those things,” Dinov said.
But not everyone agrees. The bill that placed Prop 18 on the ballot was opposed by most Republican lawmakers in the legislature. Several of them claimed that 17-year-olds are by definition still kids with developing brains. The lawmakers debated that youth under 18 don’t have enough life experience or social awareness to vote on ballot issues and candidates.
A no vote on Prop 18 ensures that people younger than 18 cannot vote in any election in California.
However, Dinov has been working since she was 16, and says if she’s had to pay taxes from a young age, she and others who will be 18 by the general election should be able to weigh in on where that money goes, as well as the decisions that will affect their future.
For more information on Proposition 18, go to: voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/18/