Pushing to Restore a Vote at 17 - washingtonpost.com

Pushing to Restore a Vote at 17 - washingtonpost.com: "Pushing to Restore a Vote at 17" Md. Parties Want New Rule on Primaries Reversed By Lisa ReinWashington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, December 18, 2007; Page B01 Maryland's two major political parties stepped up efforts yesterday to overturn an obscure change in state policy that denies about 50,000 17-year-olds the right to vote in the coming presidential primary. For decades, Maryland residents could register at age 17 as long as they turned 18 by the date of the general election in November. The law was interpreted to mean that a 17-year-old could vote in a primary election. But late last year, an opinion from the attorney general's office said the practice must end. The reason turned on a Court of Appeals decision in December 2006 that invalidated an early-voting law passed that year by the General Assembly. The court said the early-voting statute violated the state constitution because it strictly set the timing of elections. Shortly after the court ruled, Assistant Attorney General Mark Davis advised the State Board of Elections that the opinion led him to conclude that primary elections are governed by the same regulations as general elections, which allow only those 18 and older to vote. The elections board changed its policy, prohibiting 17-year-olds from registering to vote in the Feb. 12 primary unless they will be 18 by that date. Yesterday, the state Republican and Democratic parties asked the elections board to restore 17-year-olds' voting rights in primaries, arguing that the political parties, not state government, have the final say in who is eligible to vote in those elections. "This sends a wrong message to our young people," said John Flynn, executive director of the state Republican Party. "If you are able to vote in the general [presidential] election, you should be able to decide who goes on the ballot." Flynn criticized state officials for not highlighting the change in policy on the Board of Elections Web site, which lays out who can vote in primaries but does not explain that the policy is new.