Will the Class of 2020 Vote Next November? California’s Governor Just Vetoed Legislation That Would Have Made it More Likely.

Almost every member of the Class of 2020 in California high schools will be old enough to vote next November. But will they be registered? Governor Gavin Newsom just vetoed AB 773, which would have required public high schools to give students the opportunity to register or pre-register to vote and to teach students about the voting process. 

The Governor’s veto message said youth voter turnout is already increasing in the State without additional investments. While young adults indeed turned out in greater numbers in 2018, youth voter registration and thus voting rates still lag well behind the registration and turnout rates of other age groups. A February 2019 study by the California Civic Engagement Project at USC concluded:  “A significant challenge for youth turning out to vote is their continuing low registration rates compared to older Californians. In the 2018 general election, the gap in registration rates between youth and older (age 65-74) Californians was 24 percentage points.” And while roughly 27 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds turned out to vote in 2018, the overall turnout rate was double that.  

AB 773 would have dramatically improved youth voter registration rates. Registering high school students to vote presents a golden opportunity to register teens before they go to college or join the workforce. And voter pre-registration, which automatically adds 16- and 17-year-olds to the voter rolls when they turn 18, extends that opportunity to the entire senior class. Secretary of State Alex Padilla recently announced a laudable, nationwide campaign to champion legislation to expand voting rights and access through measures like voter pre-registration. 

But the Secretary of State’s own statistics show that much remains to be done here at home to increase youth voter registration rates. Indeed, as of November 2019, only 15 percent of California’s 16- and 17-year-olds are pre-registered. Perhaps that’s because the State has not followed through on the Legislature’s intent “that every school do all in its power to ensure that students are provided the opportunity and means to apply to register to vote.” And the State has not enforced an existing law that requires every high school to “designate a contact person . . . for the Secretary of State to contact in order to facilitate the distribution of voter registration cards.”

In contrast, the Governor recently signed into law the Student Civic and Voter Empowerment Act, which will require California public colleges to send emails to students and post on social media certain voting- and election-related dates and information (including National Voter Registration Day) and to designate one person per campus as the Civic and Voter Empowerment Coordinator. These coordinators will develop Civic and Voter Empowerment Action Plans for their campuses to increase civic engagement, voter turnout, and community building. We applaud the Governor’s support for legislation to increase registration and voting rates of college students. But 37 percent of California’s graduates don’t attend college, and those young adults deserve the same information to be able to participate meaningfully in their communities as students who do. 

It’s vitally important that California increase the number of high school seniors who are registered or pre-registered to vote so they can participate in the 2020 election. In addition to selecting national and statewide officeholders, that election will decide at least three ballot initiatives, including an amendment to Proposition 13 that could lead to increased funding for public schools, an issue near and dear to the hearts of recent grads. 

In the wake of the Governor’s veto of AB 773, it’s up to the Secretary of State and public schools to implement and enforce existing laws to ensure the Class of 2020 will vote that fall. Meanwhile, organizations like The Civics Center will continue to train and support high school students to organize voter registration drives in their schools.

Vicki Shapiro is an attorney in Los Angeles and a member of the Advisory Board of The Civics Center, a nonpartisan organization that promotes youth civics engagement by encouraging high school students to register or preregister to vote. The Civics Center is a project of Community Partners, a 501(c)(3) organization.