California Lawmakers Propose Teenage Voting Rights [14 Years Old!]

Bloomberg | 5/6/04 | Samantha Zee

[BunnySlippers]

California Lawmakers Propose Teenage Voting Rights, Paper Says

By Samantha Zee

May 6 (Bloomberg) -- The legal voting age in California could drop to 14, after the Senate Elections and Reapportionment Committee voted 3-2 to pass legislation that would lower the state's age, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

State Senator John Vasconcellos, a Democrat from Santa Clara, whose bills support the change in voting age, asked committee members to see young people as more critically thinking, civic-minded Americans than as ``aliens form Mars to be frightened of,'' the newspaper reported.

If the bills by Vasconcellos become law, the California constitution would be amended to give 14- to 15-year-olds one- quarter of an adult vote in state elections, while votes by 16- to 17-year-olds would be one-half of an adult vote, the Chronicle said.

Sacramento County Registrar Jill LaVine called the fraction- vote idea a ``logistical nightmare'' for elections workers, the paper reported.

[Puppage]

What about dead 14 year olds?

[BunnySlippers]

They can't smoke, they can't drive, they can't buy liquor.

[GulliverSwift]

Figures a Democrap would try this. Bribing potential voters gets expensive so they'd prefer to bribe the kids with candy bars and cheap gear than bums with booze and cigs.

[Gator113]

Well, ok, but only if we allow them the right to same sex marriage!!

[SMARTY]

I say OK, but only if it is given along with RESPONSIBILITY of compulsory Military or community service beginning at age 14 to balance the RIGHT that comes with voting on issues affecting the ENTIRE voting and TAX PAYING population.

[rellimpank]

---again, the inmates demonstrate near total control of the asylum---

[GaltMeister]

I guess the only way the Dimbulbs can get more votes is to pander to the children.

[Westbrook]

Only taxpayers should be allowed to vote.

That would destroy the DemoncRAT party, unless they changed their agenda to reflect the perspectives of the MAJORITY of TAXPAYERS.

[EggsAckley]

They can't smoke, they can't drive, they can't buy liquor.

Ah, but they CAN get knocked up!!

[Still Thinking]

The Democrats have discovered their last untapped base of natural constituents.

[Still Thinking]

Someone on a thread about this yesterday thought this was an end run to try and cast 14 year olds as adults, for the benefit of the perverts over at NAMBLA.

[GOP_Initiative]

If you're old enough to serve in the army, then you're old enough to vote. Keep it at 18.

[Blowtorch]

This law will just get their foot in the door. Pretty soon we'll be hearing about discrimination of 14 year olds, and how everyone deserves to have an equal vote. Result? Everyone 14 and up will have 1 vote. While they're decreasing the age for voting rights, maybe they should think about those even younger, and consider the rights of the unborn. But no, they wouldn't want to go that far and ruin their political agenda.

[jt6879]

18 is ok, they can fight and die, so they can vote. 14 and 16 is not. Number one the libs are trying to push this through because generally younger people are libs, my political science teacher told me,

"If you are under 30 and not a liberal you don't have a heart, if you are over 30 and still a liberal, you don't have a brain."

Plus all the lib teachers can tell the kids if they vote they get extra credit, thus creating a massive amount of votes for the libs. All from people that couldn't care less about the election. I know when I was that young I didn't care anyway.

[luckystarmom]

Personally, I think the whole voting thing should be changed to only let people that pay income taxes vote.

I live in California, and it can be really screwwy sometimes.

[Eva]

This is a typical Democrat ploy to swell the voter ranks for November. They already have the illegal alien vote, now they want the kids, who don't yet pay taxes.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Well, I want my Golden Retriever to vote, but I don't think it's going to happen very soon.

[GraceCoolidge]

If the bills by Vasconcellos become law, the California constitution would be amended to give 14- to 15-year-olds one- quarter of an adult vote in state elections, while votes by 16- to 17-year-olds would be one-half of an adult vote, the Chronicle said.

I am confused... how does a bill amend a state Constitution? Doesn't there need to be at least a referendum? I assume that federal Constitutional issues are avoided because the teenagers are only voting in state elections. I do find it rather interesting that the bill sponsor cites the intelligence of this age group as a justification to vote... I thought it was a right of citizenship and its attendant obligations, not a tribute to the voters' intelligence. If someone is old enough to serve in the military and otherwise discharge the obligations of citizenship, he/she also can vote, regardless of intellect. Is the bill's sponsor willing to impose state wide intelligence tests for voting, if that is the implied criterion? That might lead to some interesting results....

[tx_eggman]

Seems that they made a movie about this during my misspent youth ...