Goldman signs on to teen voter pre-registration bill

August 21, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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NATIONWIDE — U.S. REP. DAN Goldman on Tuesday backed the Pre-registration of Voters Everywhere Act, or PROVE Act, in Congress, reports amNY, adding his name to those of several fellow Democrats. The PROVE Act would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to choose to be automatically added to federal voter rolls as soon as they turn 18, ensuring that teens with birth dates close to Election Day will still be able to cast votes. The act would also allow individual states to set pre-registration ages lower than 16 and would provide $25 million in funding for schools to create programs designed to boost civic engagement in teens.

Teens and young adults have for decades voted at rates lower than those of other age groups, but those numbers may be beginning to shift: in 2020, 55% of voters ages 18-29 cast votes in the presidential election, an 11-point jump from 2016 and the highest young-adult turnout rate since 1972. While statistics from the 2022 midterm elections showed that states with pre-registration and automatic registration policies had higher rates of youth engagement.

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