Politics

Elizabeth Warren wants to let 16- and 17-year-olds pre-register to vote

"Young people are the future of America, and with voting rights under attack across the country, we must do everything we can to ensure they can exercise their right to vote."

Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

July 12, 2022

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she wants to better protect the youth vote.

On Monday, the senior senator from Massachusetts filed a bill with fellow Democrat Rep. Nikema Williams, of Georgia, that Warren says will help the nation live out the promise of the 26th Amendment, which guarantees the right to vote to citizens who are 18 years old and older.

The “Youth Voting Rights Act” would, among other provisions, allow people who are 16 and 17 years old to pre-register to vote, thereby ensuring they can vote as soon as their 18th birthday.

“Voting is the beating heart of our democracy,” Warren said in a statement. “Young people are the future of America, and with voting rights under attack across the country, we must do everything we can to ensure they can exercise their right to vote.

“My new bicameral bill with Congresswoman Williams will ensure young people aren’t left out of the voting process, and I’m thrilled to partner with her and my colleagues on this effort,” Warren said.

The 26th Amendment was ratified on July 1, 1971. But after five decades, the amendment is still falling short of its purported purpose of youth enfranchisement, sponsors of the legislation say.

“Our democracy is stronger when our youth are heard at the ballot box,” Williams said in a statement. “Unfortunately, young citizens still face disproportionate barriers to voting. We must do more to strengthen democratic access across generations.”

Specifically, the law would also require higher education institutions to have on-campus polling places and mandate that student ID cards can be used to meet state voter-identification requirements for federal elections, according to Warren’s office.

Additionally, the bill, if passed, would allow for offices at public colleges and universities to serve as voter registration agencies; would gather data on youth voter registration and voting; end durational residential requirements for all federal elections; launch a grant program for youth involvement in elections; and better empower the government to enforce the 26th Amendment through creating a private right of action and establishing a national standard of review for related lawsuits.

“It has never been more important to protect the health of our democracy and defend the most fundamental right of every American – the right to vote,” junior Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey said in a statement. “The Youth Voting Rights Act will ensure young Americans, who represent the future of our democracy, are equal parts eager and empowered to participate in their first election by the time they turn eighteen.”