AB 30 Goes to the Governor's Desk. LACYD Weighs-In...

On September 10, the California State Assembly concurred in amendments made to Assembly Bill 30 by the Senate and approved the measure, which would allow 17-year olds to pre-register to vote. LACYD is a strong supporter of this bill and we wasted no time sending Governor Schwarzenegger a letter declaring our position. The text of the letter is below.

September 10, 2009

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

State Capitol Building

Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

I am writing you today on behalf of the Los Angeles County Young Democrats (LACYD) to express our organization’s support for Assembly Bill 30, a bill which would strengthen our state’s democracy by increasing the potential number of registered voters in California.

Founded more than 30 years ago by Congressman Henry Waxman, Congressman Howard Berman, Los Angeles Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, and others, LACYD is the largest organization in Southern California focused on giving young people a voice and a vehicle for activism in local, state, and federal political issues.

LACYD is a proud supporter of efforts such as AB 30, which seek to improve our democracy by increasing the number of registered voters in California. AB 30 will allow 17-year olds who meet all voter eligibility requirements (other than age) to “pre-register” to vote. When the pre-registered teenagers turn 18, they will be automatically added to the ranks of registered voters in California.

Registration is one of the largest barriers to voting. Citizens often become energized by candidates or issue campaigns in the last weeks of an election, only to find they are not registered to vote or are not registered at their current addresses. Lowering the voter registration age would improve civic engagement and political participation. It would additionally help prepare a new generation of Californians to engage in our democracy. Though LACYD is a political organization, we believe that increasing the number of registered voters in California is a non-partisan issue. This bill is a sensible political reform that will strengthen our democracy and help to empower and engage a generation.

We strongly urge you to sign Assembly Bill 30 into law. Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Katherine Hennigan

President

Los Angeles County Young Democrats

If you agree the increasing the number of registered voters in California is a good thing, please take a minute to call the Governor's office at 916-445-2841 to let them know why.

You can also e-mail the Governor's staff at http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email. (If you e-mail, select "Other" when it asks you to choose your subject. Then make sure you indicate that you are supporting AB 30 in the subject line of the e-mail. Feel free to borrow as much content from the above letter as you like, but please edit it carefully to make the words your own.)