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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Frank Dermody |
   
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Dermody testifies on bill to allow some 17-year-olds to vote in primaries
FOX CHAPEL, May 9 -- At a House State Government Committee hearing in Allegheny County today, state Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Oakmont, testified about his support for legislation that would allow 17-year-olds to register and vote in primary elections in Pennsylvania if they will be 18 by that year’s general election.
Dermody was instrumental in getting the committee to hold today's hearing and two others across the state on this bill (H.B. 520) after students from the Fox Chapel Area High School asked him for his support.
"When the students first asked me why they couldn't help choose a candidate in the primary election, even though they could vote in the fall, simply because of when their birthday falls, I thought they had a valid point," he said. "Since then, I have been working to get their voices heard."
As a result, students from Fox Chapel also have testified in Philadelphia and Easton on the subject before the committee, along with other students across the state. At the same time, they have gotten experience in the legislative process as they have lobbied legislators to act on the legislation.
Dermody said that not allowing these students the opportunity to vote in the primary excludes them from half of the process and could discourage them in the future.
"We, as legislators, are always looking for ways to excite the younger generation and turn them on to the democratic process, and I think this piece of legislation can do just that."
He also said that since primary election dates change, depending on the year, young voters can be impacted depending on the date of their birthday.
"It shouldn't be based on the fluctuating primary date," Dermody said. "We should be getting our young people involved, not pushing them away from civic responsibility."
Dermody said that most 17-year-olds are taking an American government or civics class, which will make voting relevant to them as they study the process.
The bill is currently before the House State Government Committee.
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