200K High School Aged Teens Pre-Register To Vote In California

CALIFORNIA — As part of National Voter Registration Day, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced today that 209,577 16- and 17-year-olds have pre-registered to vote.

In 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that allowed voter pre-registration beginning at age 16 through VoteCal, California's statewide voter registration database.

VoteCal was certified in September 2016 and since then more than 104,000 of the 16- and 17-year olds that pre-registered have turned 18. They are eligible to vote in the upcoming November election.

"These young people represent the next generation of active, informed and engaged voters," Padilla said in a statement.

Of those who pre-registered since September 2016, 47.46 percent registered with No Party Preference, 34.44 percent registered as Democratic, and 9.59 percent registered as Republican.

In April 2017, Sec. Padilla launched online pre-registration through the state's voter registration portal at RegisterToVote.ca.gov.

He also started an online high school portal to connect California youth with civic engagement opportunities like pre-registration, organizing student mock elections and student poll worker information. That portal is at
HighSchool.sos.ca.gov.

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— Bay City News; Image via Patch