Bo Tefu and Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media
Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber announced on Sept. 26 that morethan 1.2 million young people between the ages of 16 and 17-years-oldhave pre-registered to vote since the state launched the initiative inSeptember 2016. The state program automatically activates voterregistration for pre-registered youth when they turn 18 years of age.Weber, who has visited dozens of high schools across the state topromote voting initiatives, said that students are eager to vote and lookforward to casting their first ballot, and “the numbers back them up.”“Young Californians want to be engaged, active participants in ourdemocracy and they can position themselves to do so by preregisteringto vote,” said Weber.Weber said that she is committed to encouraging young people to pre-register to vote, adding that she looks forward to partnering with theCalifornia Department of Education, State Superintendent of PublicInstruction Tony Thurmond, school officials, and leaders of community-based organizations to expand this effort.According to Weber’s office, approximately 42% of young voters areregistered Democrats, while over 13% are registered Republicans.Another 35% of young voters registered as having “no partypreference.”For more information, Californians can visit the online pre-registrationwebsite at http://www.RegisterToVote.ca.gov. Registration is open toresidents who are 16 or 17 and meet all the following criteria:
• A United States citizen and a resident of California.• 18 years old or older on Election Day.• Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the convictionof a felony• Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.More information about pre-registration for California youth can befound at sos.ca.gov/elections/pre-register-16-vote-18.Upcoming key deadlines and dates for the November 5, 2024, GeneralElection can be found at here.Plus, see a complete California General Election Calendar for morevoting details and updates
