â??What you really are doing is lowering the voting age. Thatâ??s just the rules of the game. You have to have certain cutoffs.â?

As soon as kids turn 18, they can legally vote. But some say they think it is unfair that just because they are 17 for the primary election, they can“t ultimately choose who makes it to the general election.

Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) is looking to change that.

“Under my proposal, an individual who will turn 18 by the time of the next general election, and who meets all other qualifications in order to vote, may vote in a primary election for the selection of candidates to be on the ballot at the general election,” stated a handout from Risser to a Senate committee during a public hearing

While the Wisconsin Senate originally planed to debate the bill, SB 6, last Tuesday, it has since been moved to the Committee on Labor, Elections and Urban Affairs. From there Risser has been asked to look over the bill and make a couple changes.

Terry Tuschen, one of Risser“s legislative aides, said city and county clerks voiced concerns about how whether the statewide database could handle 17-year-old voters. Tuschen said that issue has been addressed; however, he said clerks also are concerned about the need for multiple ballots if a general election falls on the same day as a primary election.

But despite minor setbacks, Risser“s goal remains the same.

“My goal is simple: to get more young adults involved in the political process at an earlier age and into the habit of voting,” Risser“s handout stated. “According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least eight other states permit 17-year -olds to vote in the primary election if the voter will turn 18 by the next general election.”

The paper also stated Risser hopes the new law would increase voter turnout in primary elections, which is typically low, between 20 percent to 25 percent.

Carmen Baldwin is a 16-year-old sophomore at St. Joan Antida High School, located downtown. Baldwin turns 17 in April and, therefore, will be ineligible to vote in the Wisconsin presidential primary election scheduled for Feb. 19, 2008.

“If I don“t get to pick who is in either [party], I will not have the person I want for the general election,” Baldwin said.

Her fellow student Leila Martinez, a 17-year-old junior at St. Antida High School, will be able to vote in the presidential primary and general election, but said it is unfair for those who can“t.

“I would be upset because it“s our chance to voice ourselves whatever our age,” Martinez said.

On the other hand, not everyone is for changing the voting age for the primaries.

“What you really are doing is lowering the voting age,” said Paul Coleman, a poll worker at Riverside University High School for the primaries last Tuesday. “That“s just the rules of the game. You have to have certain cutoffs.”

However, even if the bill passes, it would not become a law until after the 2008 presidential election.

According to a Legislative Reference Bureau analysis, because the bill extends the right to vote, it would have to be submitted to state citizens in a statewide referendum to be held during the November 2008 general election. It the referendum passed, it would become law Jan. 1, 2009.

> Comments