Essay
MN 93rd Legislature 2023-2024 Bill#: HF 0110
This bill allows for individuals sixteen years of age to pre-register (submit an application to
register) to vote. Previously the age was not this low. I bring this bill forward because I would
like to mend it. The change I would like to make to this bill would be to leave it as it stands but
add a section that allows for seventeen year olds to vote (and register) in primary elections if
they will be eighteen on or before the general election. Minnesota previously had this but a
couple years ago the ninety-third legislature got rid of it. I am choosing to bring it back and add it
onto this bill as it deals with minors and elections.
PRO
Allowing seventeen-year-olds to vote in primaries can prove to be good because it gives them a
voice in who should be on the ballot for the election that they will get to vote in, in November.
From Presidents to local county board members, there is a broad spectrum of people that are
on primary ballots. Those people are campaigning, for months before, to win the vote of eligible
voters. Though those seventeen-year-olds aren’t able to vote in primaries, technically they still
fall under that category of the population that is eligible to vote. Also, by lowering that age
requirement for primary elections, it will work to solve the problem of the younger population's
low voter turnout. The pros of changing this will allow for more accurate representation of the
people.
CON
Opposition to letting seventeen-year-olds may argue that if this were to be allowed, a large
percentage of votes would be added to the current eligible voting population. The argument is
that the large number of people added to the voting population would entail illegal or “fake”
votes. Those votes, if allowed, would be bad for one side of the aisle because they are
presumed to favor the other side. The other argument is that adding those younger voters can
be too early for them. If seventeen-year-olds were able to vote, and chose to vote they may not
be informed and matured enough to make that decision. Unlawful votes and uninformed voters
are two potential cons to changing the primary voting age to seventeen-year-olds [if eighteen on
general election day].
Sources:
-Pros
https://archive3.fairvote.org/reforms/universal-voter-registration/17-year-old-primary-voting-2/
https://ballotpedia.org/Voting_in_primaries_at_17_years_old
-Cons
https://www.npr.org/2024/10/16/nx-s1-5147790/noncitizen-voting-claims-trump
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4020373/