17-year-olds poised to vote in primary

Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008

17-year-olds poised to vote in primary

by Katherine Mullen | Staff Writer

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The hot topic in class and among Kris Klein’s peers is the 2008 presidential race — the first election in which he and most of his friends in the class of 2008 are eligible to vote.

‘‘That’s the No. 1 topic right now, and it’s great because more and more people are getting involved in our school,” the 17-year-old Frederick High School senior said. ‘‘I’d have to say our engagement is pretty high.”

Kris registered to vote in November, when he moved from Pennsylvania to Frederick to live with his sister. His father is serving in Iraq with the Air Force and his mother is working for the U.S. government in Iraq, he said.

Kris said his experience of living in various states and abroad and having parents in Iraq has had an impact on his political views and has strengthened his conviction that the U.S. should safely withdraw troops from Iraq.

Developing alternative sources of energy, decreasing the national debt and the decreasing value of the U.S. dollar abroad are also concerns for him.

‘‘I think we need to take a pause, fix ourselves and focus on these issues,” Kris said.

The teenager plans to vote for Republican John McCain in the state primary Feb. 12 because of the Arizona senator’s positions on immigration and the economy.

In December, the state Board of Elections restored the right of most 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections, following advice from the attorney general and clearing a year-old restriction on young voters.

For 40 years, the state allowed all unaffiliated 17-year-old voters to participate in primaries and to vote in non-partisan primary elections.

According to the new rules, 17-year-olds who will turn 18 on or before Nov. 4 may vote in the February primary if they are registered Democrats or Republicans.

In some counties that have non-partisan elections, such as the Board of Education race in Frederick County, as well as ballot issues and municipal elections, 17-year-olds are prohibited from voting in those particular races and must vote with a special ballot.

Stuart Harvey, Frederick County election director, said that more young people have come to Winchester Hall to register to vote since the Iowa caucuses earlier this month.

According to Harvey, 335 new voters in Frederick County have registered to vote since Jan. 1. Of those new voters, seven are 17 years old, and 79 are 18 years old.

Slightly more than half of the total number of new voters since Jan. 1 is between the ages of 17 and 24, Harvey added.

‘‘That is very impressive ... [since] they don’t make up half of the electorate, obviously,” he said.

A concerted effort between the Democratic Central Committee in Frederick County and Frederick County Public Schools is also under way to increase voter registration among eligible 17-year-olds.

On Tuesday, the committee delivered more than 400 voter registration applications to guidance offices in all the county’s high schools, said Bob Kresslein, chair of the Democratic Central Committee. Teachers are also making announcements in social studies classes that applications are available online and in guidance offices.