A bill making its way through the state legislature could make it possible for 17-year-olds to have an impact at the ballots later this year, as lawmakers move to open primaries to a younger block of voters.
Under the bill, dubbed the “New Voter Empowerment Act,” 17-year-old registered voters will be able to participate in primary elections if they would be 18-years-old on or by the following general election. The legislation mirrors similar efforts that have recently been made into law in 21 other states, as well as the District of Columbia.
Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker (D, District 16), who introduced the bill to the state Assembly State and Local Government Committee back in January, said the issue was an important one for democracy as a whole.
“When I first got elected in 2015, we had less than 25 percent of the registered voters participating. If you skew that down to the younger people, it’s just abysmally low,” Zwicker said. “I look at this as a critical function of our democracy to make voting accessible to as many people as possible.”
With support from fellow Assembly Democrats and fellow primary sponsors Jamel Holley (District 20), Tim Eustace (District 38), Arthur Barclay (District 5), Angela McKnight (District 31) and Raj Mukherji (District 33), the bill was scheduled to go for a final vote in the state Assembly just after publication Thursday.
Leading up to the vote, Eustace echoed Zwicker’s sentiments regarding its importance for the political process moving forward.
“As a matter of principle, all eligible voters should be able to take part in both the primary and the general election,” Eustace said. “This legislation will make that basic notion the law in New Jersey.”
With a Democratic majority in the legislature and a Democratic governor in Phil Murphy, Zwicker said he was confident that the bill would be signed into law if it passed.
That being said, however, the assemblyman was quick to point out that the bill did not stem from partisan politics.
“There’s no partisanship about this,” he said. “Young people skew Democrat, sure, and people have criticized me on Facebook for trying to create votes, but this bill is giving people a chance to register for whatever party they want. Once a registered voter, always a voter.”
In the wake of the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., a push to lower the voting age to 16 years old has been gaining traction. In Washington D.C., for example, a council member there introduced legislation to do just that in order to drive up youth participation in local and federal races.
Though the “New Voter Empowerment Act” would not go that far, Zwicker said he was confident in the state’s 17-year-olds and their ability to participate in political discourse, especially after attending the March for Our Lives event at the Somerset County Courthouse in Somerville last month.
“We have seen a wave of teenage activism that we haven’t seen since perhaps the 1960s. We are watching teenagers throughout the country being incredibly involved politically,” he said. “They spoke with such tremendous eloquence…there’s a momentum and energy that is I think just infusing politics nationwide.”
After the Assembly vote, the bill will go before the state Senate for a final vote. If passed there, it will go before Gov. Murphy, who will have the option to sign or veto the potential law.
Regardless of the outcome, Zwicker said working for a potential increase in voter participation could help address some of the perceived problems facing democracy.
“My pure concern is the erosion of our democracy overall. People feel so disillusioned with politics and that goes well beyond the last year and a half. Whether it is changing our primaries or implementing early voting and instant registration…I think these are all different ways to try to increase voter participation,” he said. “That to me is so critical because if we don’t have an informed electorate, then I think our democracy will continue to become eroded and that leads to many of the problems you see today.”