Originally published at: Kevin McCarthy wants to prevent new 18-year-old adults from voting (video) | Boing Boing
…
15 Likes
Fuck off, Kev; my kid turns 18 next month, and she WILL be voting in every election.
70 Likes
I’m not sure that this is something that the federal government can do anything about. Elections and the registering of voters is left to the states.
But once again, we see the GQP worry about the vote of young people rather than come up with any public policies that (positively) impact the young and working class.
eta: parenthetical and stuff below
Thanks @blondie and @gabe_oakes
(Sorry to take so long. I saw all the replies gave everyone a 
and I had to get back to work.)
46 Likes
Go ahead, Kevin. Kick that inevitable can down the road. You’re outnumbered anyway but sure, this will help, I’m sure. No way is it gonna incentivize voter registration on high school and college campuses nationwide. Nope. /s
39 Likes
I’ll give this to the dimwit: somehow he recognises that a party that denies climate change, is bigoted against sexual and reproductive equality and choice, that preserves economic inequality, and that allows fascists and conspiracists into its ranks may not have much appeal for an increasingly powerful demographic of young people.
Actually, no, I won’t give it to him. He’s been told to try this by equally horrible people who are far smarter than he is.
40 Likes
Certainly in Maryland, you can register if you WILL be 18 on election day, irrespective of whether you are 18 when registering. I would suspect that most states are the same.
36 Likes
Coincidentally, it’s this same young adult demographic that helped Democrats win
This is just incredibly stupid. It’s not like today’s 18yos are going to get younger. It’s not like stopping registration one month before an election is going prevent enough youth from casting ballots to tip all but the closest of races. It’s not like many states don’t allow youth to register to vote when they’re 16 or 17 while applying for their driver’s license, just not actually cast a vote if they aren’t 18 on Election Day.
It is a great way to piss off young people and create a block of voters who will never vote Republican.
32 Likes
I’ve been seeing some overt talk by Republicans about raising the minimum voting age to 21. I mean, sure, let’s allow them to change the age of adulthood to 21, so you can’t legally vote, join the military, own a gun, drive on your own, etc. until then and see how it goes for Republicans…
23 Likes
Oh no, you misunderstand: they don’t want to change the age of adulthood with regard to joining the military or owning a gun. It’s just voting rights that are on the chopping block.
31 Likes
They can’t just change it without repealing the 26th amendment. Which the House cannot do all by itself, and certainly not this House, which could not possibly generate a 2/3 majority in favor of increasing the age of majority. Rinse and repeat for the Senate.
Let’s not forget why the age of majority was lowered to 18 - Vietnam. 18 year olds could drink (in most states), drive a car and be forced into a meat-grinder against their will, but they couldn’t vote against the old white men sending them to said meat-grinder.
45 Likes
They should just cut to the chase and go with their Only rich old white male “Christians” get the vote bill, named something like “Forth America Reich bill” (“Don’t worry, next session we’ll add the ‘heterosexual’”) -sigh-
14 Likes
look who he is talking to. easy to sit there with other like-minded morons and say “this is a good idea, right? don’t you agree this is a good idea?” get out in front of the majority of the country and let’s see how good an idea that is, kev.
10 Likes
They fit the Constitutional requirement. You can’t just treat it as ‘advisory’.
5 Likes
Register automatically at birth. Boom.
14 Likes
That been my experience as well – I’ve lived in several US states, and the voter registration information in all of them made clear that anyone who would be 18 by election day was allowed to register.
So lack of “same day registration” ≠ new 18-year-olds can’t vote.
A quick trawl online finds that 24 states and DC have specific “younger-than-18” ages when people can register to vote, 25 allow preregistration for those will will be 18 on election day, and North Dakota does not have voter registration.
12 Likes
Already 16 in Takoma Park.
17 Likes
I think it’s a longstanding tradition to view basically everything as a matter for the states, to be jealously guarded against the dead hand of federal tyranny, so long as the GOP does not control congress; while viewing no matter as too small for the tender guidance of Uncle Sam and pious AEI concerns about an unduly burdensome patchwork of state-level regulations when they do.
It’s not what you’d call ‘principled’; but it is pretty consistent.
14 Likes
He’s forgetting he’ll be cutting off all the millions of seniors with memory challenges he depends on. I’m kind of warming to this.
1 Like
Sure they do. Just not in a positive manner, hence the concern.
9 Likes
