Bill would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote

The Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee heard testimony Feb. 7 on a bill that would provide a process for 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote in Nebraska.

Lincoln Sen. Amanda McGill, sponsor of LB127, said the bill would prepare young people for the responsibility of exercising their right to vote. She said the bill was part of a process in which she and legislative staff visited Omaha South High School and showed them how bills are drafted and move through the legislative process.

“It’s been a great experience for them to see how this process works firsthand from the beginning,” McGill said. “We all want our children to take an interest in government and be engaged, and to get out and vote. We want them to be informed.”

Under the bill, the secretary of state’s office would maintain a database of pre-registered individuals and a confirmation card would be sent two weeks prior to the projected effective date of the person’s voter registration.

Upon return of the confirmation card, the individual would be registered to vote and would be sent an acknowledgement card.

Jake Bruckner, a student at Omaha South High School, testified in support of the bill, saying it may help young people become interested in politics. Teachers could use pre-registration as a starting point for discussing voting and politics, he said.

“When it comes time to vote, our young people will be ready to make an educated decision on who they would like to vote for,” he said, adding that senators shouldn’t be concerned about the bill’s approximately $17,000 fiscal impact.

“These expenses basically pay for themselves by making us a more representative democracy,” Bruckner said.

Lazaro Spindola, director of the Latino American Commission, also testified in support of the bill. He said research shows that young people who are registered vote at approximately the same rates as other voters. The problem, he said, is that only 59 percent of eligible voters ages 18 to 24 are registered to vote.

“There is not so much a participation gap as a registration gap,” Spindola said. “Young people vote when they are registered.”

Platte County Election Commissioner Diane Olmer testified in opposition to the bill, saying the process it outlines is confusing.

The bill does not contain a provision for confirmation cards to be sent immediately to young people who preregister, she said, which could leave them unsure of when they are eligible to vote. In addition, she said, most county election commissioners already engage in outreach to register young voters.

“I think the current system … is maybe a more clear-cut way to handle the situation,” Olmer said.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.