By Nicolas Storer Rios ‘28
In November of 2028, there will be, among many others, 2 very important elections in the state of Pennsylvania. One for the President of the United States, where, for the first time since 2016, both parties will have 2 new candidates. The other is for Pennsylvania’s United States senator, where the Democratic Party may seek a primary challenge against incumbent John Fetterman, not to mention the Republican Party’s hopes of regaining the seat.
If you are currently a freshman or a sophomore, there is a chance that your 18th birthday lies after the day of the general primary (usually in either April or May), but before the general election in November. Meaning, as a voter in the general election, you would not be able to vote in the candidate selection process because your birthday happened to be just after it. With elections as significant as the 2028 cycle, and for any cycle with a competitive primary, it is important that all voters that can vote in the general election are able to vote in the primary election. That is why I believe that 17-year olds should be able to vote in primaries if they are 18 on Election Day.
If you are able to vote on Election Day, you should be able to select the candidate you would like to vote for in the primary. For the purposes of this specific issue, there is no meaningful difference in capability between someone who is 18 before the primary and someone who is 17 on primary day but 18 on Election Day. According to a paper by journalists Daniel Hart and Robert Atkins, “Analyses of national survey data demonstrate that by 16 years of age–but not before–American adolescents manifest levels of development in each quality of citizenship that are approximately the same as those apparent in young American adults who are allowed to vote.” Even making the claim that 17-and-a-half-year olds are somehow significantly less intelligent than 18 year olds, “intelligence” has never been a requirement to be able to vote, and denying those able to vote on election day from candidate selection is still arbitrary.
Younger voters in party primaries is not a partisan issue. There is no benefit to the Republican Party that more people are able to vote in the Democratic primary and vice-versa. Allowing younger voters from both parties to vote in the primary could strengthen turnout in the general election for both parties, as they would be more motivated to vote for a candidate they selected or at least had a choice in selecting.
17-year olds voting in party primaries has significant precedent. Currently, 22 states (+ D.C) out of 50 allow 17-year olds to vote in party primaries. As early as 1972, 1 year after when the voting age was lowered to 18, the states of Delaware and Maryland enacted this law into their electoral code. As recently as 2024, the state of New Jersey enacted this law. One of the most Republican states in the nation, West Virginia, and the most Democratic state in the nation, Vermont, allow 17-year olds in primaries. Every state surrounding Pennsylvania, except New York, allows it.
I spoke to my state representative, Nikki Rivera, about the issue, and she expressed support for what I proposed. When asking for an example of a state code that allows 17 year olds in primaries, I mentioned the state of Delaware, which plainly states that “Every applicant for registration shall be a qualified voter in a general or primary election if such applicant is a citizen of this State of the age of 18 years and upwards, or who will be 18 years old on or before the day of the general election next succeeding the applicant’s registration”. The representative also made the point that allowing this in Pennsylvania would increase civic participation and young voter enthusiasm in elections.
I also spoke with CV history teacher Eugene Johnson, who cautiously supported the issue. He supports ample education before participating in the voting process, and 17 and a half year olds may not have finished their high school education. I generally agree, but primary voters in general are far more engaged in politics already than the average person, and as stated before, “knowledge” is not and has never been a voting requirement.
2028 is an extremely important year for elections in Pennsylvania. To deny those who are voting in November their vote for their candidate of choice would be to wrong thousands of young voters. Pennsylvania is lagging behind, and it is up to young advocates to fight for it to catch up and ensure that every voter is heard.
https://ballotpedia.org/Voting_under_age_18
https://delcode.delaware.gov/title15/c017/index.html
https://delcode.delaware.gov/title15/c031/sc01/index.html
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27895968
17-year olds should be able to vote in the 2028 Primary
By Nicolas Storer Rios ‘28
In November of 2028, there will be, among many others, 2 very important elections in the state of Pennsylvania. One for the President of the United States, where, for the first time since 2016, both parties will have 2 new candidates. The other is for Pennsylvania’s United States senator, where the Democratic Party may seek a primary challenge against incumbent John Fetterman, not to mention the Republican Party’s hopes of regaining the seat.
If you are currently a freshman or a sophomore, there is a chance that your 18th birthday lies after the day of the general primary (usually in either April or May), but before the general election in November. Meaning, as a voter in the general election, you would not be able to vote in the candidate selection process because your birthday happened to be just after it. With elections as significant as the 2028 cycle, and for any cycle with a competitive primary, it is important that all voters that can vote in the general election are able to vote in the primary election. That is why I believe that 17-year olds should be able to vote in primaries if they are 18 on Election Day.
If you are able to vote on Election Day, you should be able to select the candidate you would like to vote for in the primary. For the purposes of this specific issue, there is no meaningful difference in capability between someone who is 18 before the primary and someone who is 17 on primary day but 18 on Election Day. According to a paper by journalists Daniel Hart and Robert Atkins, “Analyses of national survey data demonstrate that by 16 years of age–but not before–American adolescents manifest levels of development in each quality of citizenship that are approximately the same as those apparent in young American adults who are allowed to vote.” Even making the claim that 17-and-a-half-year olds are somehow significantly less intelligent than 18 year olds, “intelligence” has never been a requirement to be able to vote, and denying those able to vote on election day from candidate selection is still arbitrary.
Younger voters in party primaries is not a partisan issue. There is no benefit to the Republican Party that more people are able to vote in the Democratic primary and vice-versa. Allowing younger voters from both parties to vote in the primary could strengthen turnout in the general election for both parties, as they would be more motivated to vote for a candidate they selected or at least had a choice in selecting.
17-year olds voting in party primaries has significant precedent. Currently, 22 states (+ D.C) out of 50 allow 17-year olds to vote in party primaries. As early as 1972, 1 year after when the voting age was lowered to 18, the states of Delaware and Maryland enacted this law into their electoral code. As recently as 2024, the state of New Jersey enacted this law. One of the most Republican states in the nation, West Virginia, and the most Democratic state in the nation, Vermont, allow 17-year olds in primaries. Every state surrounding Pennsylvania, except New York, allows it.
I spoke to my state representative, Nikki Rivera, about the issue, and she expressed support for what I proposed. When asking for an example of a state code that allows 17 year olds in primaries, I mentioned the state of Delaware, which plainly states that “Every applicant for registration shall be a qualified voter in a general or primary election if such applicant is a citizen of this State of the age of 18 years and upwards, or who will be 18 years old on or before the day of the general election next succeeding the applicant’s registration”. The representative also made the point that allowing this in Pennsylvania would increase civic participation and young voter enthusiasm in elections.
I also spoke with CV history teacher Eugene Johnson, who cautiously supported the issue. He supports ample education before participating in the voting process, and 17 and a half year olds may not have finished their high school education. I generally agree, but primary voters in general are far more engaged in politics already than the average person, and as stated before, “knowledge” is not and has never been a voting requirement.
2028 is an extremely important year for elections in Pennsylvania. To deny those who are voting in November their vote for their candidate of choice would be to wrong thousands of young voters. Pennsylvania is lagging behind, and it is up to young advocates to fight for it to catch up and ensure that every voter is heard.
https://ballotpedia.org/Voting_under_age_18
https://delcode.delaware.gov/title15/c017/index.html
https://delcode.delaware.gov/title15/c031/sc01/index.html
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27895968