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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Richard Grucela |
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Grucela testifies on bill to allow some 17-year-olds to vote in primaries
Would allow them to vote in spring if they will be 18 by general election
PHILADELPHIA, March 14 – At a House State Government Committee hearing in Philadelphia today, state Rep. Richard Grucela, D-Northampton, testified about his 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.
"Our primary election in Pennsylvania is where each party chooses its candidates for office," Grucela said. "It's the beginning of the election process, so it makes sense to allow those young individuals who will vote for the first time that fall to also have a role in this part of the political process. Let’s not groom another generation to sit at home on Election Day.”
Grucela said the legislation, H.B. 520, is more relevant than ever in an
election year where many young voters are expected to play a major role in the November
outcome.
In 20 of the 24 states that held primaries or caucuses in early February, youth voting rates at least doubled from 2000 and 2004 figures, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. In Georgia, Missouri and Oklahoma, youth voting rates tripled, and in Tennessee, they quadrupled.
“This year’s presidential election illustrates the heightened interest young people are taking in their future,” Grucela said. “It doesn’t make any sense to bar someone from fully participating in the election process simply because their birthday is a few months shy of the primary date – especially when for so long they were known as a disengaged component.”
Grucela added that most 17-year-olds also are taking an American government or civics class, which will make voting relevant to them as they study the process.
The bill is currently in the House State Government Committee.
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