According to information released in April by California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, there are 100,000 teenagers that have pre-registered to vote. Padilla stated,
This is a big milestone. I’m optimistic it’s going to translate into action at the ballot box.
The state’s effort to get 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote has been working. The program began in the fall of 2016 and it automatically activates the teen’s registration at age 18. State officials reported that over 10 percent of the total number of pre-registrations came in just the last few weeks of April. The majority of the teenage applicants continue to choose to be unaffiliated, with about 43 percent choosing to be registered as non-party voters. About 38 percent chose the Democratic Party and about 10 percent chose to be registered as a Republican. We will have to wait and see if the number of pre-registered teens continues to increase.
