Pitney on Pre-Registering Young People to Vote

I happen to be old school on the issue of voting. I do not believe that you ought to be able to vote without property or paying taxes. No skin in the game? No vote for you.

So I'm naturally troubled by this bill that would allow 16 and 17 year olds to pre-register to vote.

Assembly bill 1819 allows a young person to complete the same registration form as any other person. Once the voter is 18, his or her registration is activated and a sample ballot and other election materials are mailed for the first election in which he or she would be eligible to vote.

Republicans oppose the bill since younger people are generally more liberal and tend to lean democratic, said Professor Jack Pitney at Claremont McKenna College in Southern California.

Many sixteen and seventeen year olds haven't paid taxes, haven't had jobs, and haven't studied any of the issues in any seriousness. So yes, they shouldn't be pre-registering to vote.

Looks like the politicians are just look for another hack job for one of their constituents. It ain't cheap to mail "sample" ballot after all.