Golden State Today

California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., announced that over 1.2 million 16- and 17-year-olds have pre-registered to vote in California since the program began in September 2016. Pre-registered youth will have their voter registration automatically activated when they turn 18.

“I have visited dozens of high schools across California and students throughout our state have told me they can’t wait to cast their first ballot. The numbers back them up. Young Californians want to be engaged, active participants in our democracy and they can position themselves to do so by preregistering to vote,” said Secretary Weber. “I look forward to continuing our partnership with the California Department of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, school officials, community organizations and advocates to encourage young people to pre-register at www.RegisterToVote.ca.gov."

The breakdown of pre-registered applicants by political party preference is as follows:

Democratic: 545,433 (42.6%)

No Party Preference: 449,860 (35.1%)

Republican: 175,737 (13.7%)

American Independent: 47,552 (3.7%)

Libertarian: 16,129 (1.3%)

Unknown*: 13,473 (1.1%)

Peace and Freedom: 12,295 (0.96%)

Other**: 10,306 (0.81%)

Green: 9,303 (0.73%)

*Total listed under "Unknown" include pre-registered applicants who did not select a political party preference when registering to vote.

**Totals listed under "Other" include pre-registered applicants who selected non-qualified political parties.

“16- and 17-year-olds who do not have a signature on file with the DMV through a driver license or state identification (ID) card need to complete the pre-registration process by printing a paper form and mailing it to their county elections office,” noted Weber. Applicants will be sent confirmation when their voter pre-registration application is processed or contacted if more information is needed to confirm their eligibility.

Online pre-registration at www.RegisterToVote.ca.gov is available for California youth who are 16 or 17 and meet all the following criteria:

• A United States citizen and a resident of California.

• Will be 18 years old or older on Election Day.

• Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony.

• Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.

More information about pre-registration for California youth can be found at sos.ca.gov/elections/pre-register-16-vote-18.