Prop 18

Official Arguments (click ▸ to expand)

California Proposition 18, Primary Voting for 17-Year-Olds Amendment (2020) - Ballotpedia

California Proposition 18, the Primary Voting for 17-Year-Olds Amendment, is on the ballot in California as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020. Proposition 18 would allow 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primary elections and special elections.

ballotpedia.org

✅ San Francisco Chronicle

"The idea isn’t a wholesale lowering of the voting age. It’s built on logic that links the sorting out of candidates in primaries with the eventual final choice in a general election. The young people envisioned in the proposition would have a crack at both votes, choosing the first cut of contenders and then taking part in the final runoff. It allows for a full cycle in the political game."

✅ The San Diego Union-Tribune

"One lamentable aspect of U.S. politics in the Donald Trump era is the disappearance of the bipartisan consensus that voting should be encouraged to give people a stake in their democracy. Vote yes on Proposition 18 to give more young people that stake."

✅ American Civil Liberties Union SoCal

"Vote to give 17-year-olds a say on important issues affecting their lives.

Prop 18 will expand voting rights to 17-year-olds by allowing them to vote in a primary or special election if they will be 18 by the time of the next general election and are otherwise eligible to vote. Vote YES on Prop 18 to give 17-year-olds a say on important issues affecting their everyday lives. Let’s make our democracy more inclusive."

✅ Los Angeles Times

"In California we have an added reason to let some 17-year-olds vote — our top-two primary system. Except for presidential elections, voters in California primaries don’t select which candidates will represent the various political parties on the November ballot, but rather they select from all the candidates which two will face off in November. (In some races, there won’t even be a runoff if a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the primary.) It makes sense that the teens who will be eligible to vote in a general election should also help decide whose names will be on that ballot."

🚫 The Mercury News

Editorial: Who should be allowed to cast a ballot in California?

Get editorials, opinion columns, letters to the editor and more in your inbox weekday mornings. Sign up for the Bay Area Opinion newsletter. California voters will be asked in the Nov. 3 election to expand the pool of state residents who can cast ballots. Proposition 17 would extend voting rights to people on parole.

mercurynews.com

🚫 Orange County Register

"There is no compelling reason to extend the right to vote to those who are 17, especially considering there are plenty of avenues for politically interested young people to be involved in the political process at a younger age, including working on campaigns, helping candidates get out the vote, speaking their minds and educating themselves."

🚫 The Desert Sun

"Pre-registration of young people beginning at age 16 already gives those eager to join the process a tangible step toward voting, which should remain a goal they’ll attain at age 18. It is definitely worth waiting for. Vote "no" on Proposition 18."

Editorial: Prop 18's lowering of voter age to 17 for some is a misfire. Vote no

Endorsements are decided by the Editorial Board, which operates independently of the Desert Sun news staff. The Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Al Franco, Executive Editor Julie Makinen, Desert Sun Staff Member Darby Wright and community members Gloria Franz, Becky Kurtz, Terria Smith and Rob Moon.

www.desertsun.com

✅ California Democratic Party

Allows those who turn age 18 by a November general election to vote in that year’s primary elections.

YES on 18 - vote for our future

Voting YES on 18 allows first-time voters to participate in the full election cycle and build a lifelong civic participation habit. If you are able to serve in the military, you also deserve the right to vote. Young people are most affected by student debt, health care, the economy, gun laws, and climate change.

www.yeson18.vote

🚫 Republican Party

"Lowers the Voting Age

Prop 17 lowers the voting age for many young Californians to just 17 in Primary Elections. This means high school seniors would be voting for important tax measures only adults would pay."