The Washington DC Council is considering a set of reforms to the district’s elections that would have the effect of encouraging youth voter turnout — and allowing some currently ineligible teens to vote in primary elections.

Among other things, the Omnibus Election Reform Act of 2009 would:

  • Allow 16-year-olds to “pre-register” to vote.
  • Grant the vote in primary elections to 17-year-olds who would turn 18 by the time of the general election.
  • Establish same-day voter registration, eliminating a deadline that’s currently a month in advance of election day.

Each of these reforms is designed to get young people (and, in the case of the third, not-young people too) engaged with electoral politics. The evidence shows clearly that if you register, you’re likely to vote, and that if you vote once, you’re likely to vote again.

Eliminating barriers to voting is the biggest step we can take toward higher turnout, and all of these proposals are worthy of adoption in DC and throughout the nation.