In June 2023, the Minnesota State Legislature passed a bill that allows for teenagers aged 16 and 17 to pre-register for voting. While this bill does not allow them to partake in voting at elections, it does make it so that they are automatically eligible once they turn 18. This bill is meant to help younger people become more involved in the political scene and allows for them to obtain more experience for their life after high school. 

The majority of people will not vote while they are still in high school. With elections taking place in the fall, and most students not turning 18 before then, voting isn’t really on the mind of a lot of the school. This makes us ask: why even implement this bill? The reason that comes to mind for me is the opportunity it will bring to up and coming voters, and to allow for an even earlier involvement in politics for that generation. 

While the 16 and 17 year olds who are registering will not be able to vote, they still will have the ability to go through the registering process and gaining that experience before leaving for college or starting a career can take the stress off of your future self. Registering to vote while still in high school and not having to worry about it before the next election is something that will benefit anyone who decides to take part in this process. 

Another benefit of this bill being passed, is the early preparation for those who can vote. While the number of high school students who will be 18 before the election is slim, there are still probably some students who wish to vote. This bill allows for that process to be much less stressful and reduces the urgency of registration. The students who will be turning 18 in Sept. and Oct. have such little time to register which adds pressure to an already stressful senior year. Having the ability to register up to two years in advance takes that pressure off early voting and makes that process a lot smoother. 

However, there is the concern of this involvement in politics being too early. The push to involve young people in politics is good, and I think it will benefit the government in the future.  However, there are some limits that come with younger involvement. Studies such as this one from the National Library of Medicine show that our brains don’t become fully developed until our mid 20’s, so why should we be having young people involved in politics close to 10 years before that? There is also the argument against having people registering to vote but not actually able to participate in the elections. Some people might think that the only people who are registering to vote should be those who actually can vote, but that won’t have the negative effect some might think it will. 

Overall, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. This bill will open up new opportunities to students from Park and across the state, and there aren’t many downsides. This suggests that this bill will thrive, and this idea of young people being involved in politics should be spread.