The new year brought a new voting registration age. New York State Senator David Carlucci’s law concerning the minimum age for pre-registration took effect on Jan. 1. Carlucci’s law has made it legal for sixteen and seventeen year olds in New York State to pre-register to vote in future elections. The law also requires local boards of education to create procedures that enable and encourage students to pre-register. When pre-registered voters turn eighteen, they are automatically registered with their local board of elections, granting them the ability to vote. 

Carlucci’s motivation for creating the law is his desire to increase the number of young voters at the polls. In the 2014 midterm elections, only about 20 percent of voters were 16 to 19 year olds. He made his goal clear: “The new voter pre-registration law will engage young voters and increase voter turnout not just short term but long term. Right now, young people are demanding political change, and New York will empower all voters early to make their voices heard.” Carlucci wants to encourage young people to share their political opinions through their vote. He hopes that allowing sixteen year olds to pre-register and requiring schools to accommodate pre-registration will result in a wider representation of political views from a younger demographic.

Sophomore Elizabeth DiFiore commented on the matter; “I have mixed feelings, honestly. I think it is great to become involved in politics at a young age and to be ready for it when the time comes to vote. Also, I think it is a step towards possibly lowering the voting age, and I do not know if I want that. If you register, good for you, and if you do not, well, that is okay too.”

Sophomore Samantha Guggino stated, “I feel like it will influence more young adults to vote once they become eligible to do so. It will help encourage more teenagers to become interested in politics, and I believe that is a good thing.” Sophomore Joseph Ingerman explained his opinion, stating, “I think it is pretty good to have the ability to pre-register to vote. In some countries, many do not get the same opportunities, nevertheless, the very opportunity to be able to vote. I would be considered lucky to pre-register to vote.” New York has become one of the fourteen states in America to allow for sixteen-year-olds to pre-register to vote, giving teens in New York the chance to consider their voting opportunities and encouraging the conversation of voting rights.