The “New Voter Empowerment Act” is on the agenda for this Thursday’s Assembly State and Local Governance Committee hearing, Save Jerseyans. And as you might’ve guessed from the title, its scope goes well beyond “empowerment.” This legislation would create an entire new class of New Jersey voter:
17-year olds.
That’s right. Pursuant to this Democrat proposal (A3690), 17 year old Garden State residents would be allowed to vote in primary elections (presumably beginning with the 2024 presidential contest) if the teen in question turns 18 before the general election.
“Current law permits a person who is at least 17 years of age to register to vote if the person will be at least 18 at the time of the election,” the bill’s official statement explains. “However, the person is designated in the Statewide Voter Registration System as temporarily ineligible to vote until that person’s 18th birthday.”
Governor Chris Christie vetoed a similar Democrat bill back in 2016; there’s plenty of reason to believe Governor Phil Murphy would demonstrate comparative openness to the idea should it make it to his desk.
After all, there’s ample data to suggest that not only are very young Americans far more likely to be Leftists than older voters, but some 2022 midterm data supports the proposition that young voters helped blunt the GOP “wave” and help Democrats prevent a complete electoral catastrophe.
Click here to check out the text of the legislation for yourself.
