Pre-registered voters would be automatically eligible to vote when they turn 18.
Amanda Brown with Rock the Vote says pre-registration could be integrated into high school civics class discussions about the importance of voting.
“The earlier you start those conversations about what it means to vote, what it means to be a citizen and that responsibility and also the power that come with it, the better,” Brown says.
Recent studies show that adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are registered to vote at a far lower rate than any other age group.
According to a recent study, pre-registration programs in Hawaii and Florida have been successful in encouraging young people to start voting and to keep voting.
The bill has passed out of the Senate and is now in the Assembly.
Related Stories
California Nurses Seek Greater Workplace Protections
Thursday, April 24, 2014Nurses across the state are calling for greater protections from violent patients. Lawmakers will vote on a bill today that would require hospitals to do more to prevent violence at their facilities.
Bill Allowing Liens to Recover Unpaid Wages Passes California Legislative Committee
Wednesday, April 23, 2014California employees owed back wages would be able to place a lien on their former employer’s property under a bill that cleared the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee Wednesday.
Sec. of State Candidates Disagree on Fundraising Ban
Wednesday, April 23, 2014Four candidates for California’s Secretary of State covered issues from vote by mail elections to business licenses in a debate today. And they didn’t disagree on much.
Steinberg Orders Ethics Training For Senators, Staff
Wednesday, April 23, 2014Recent scandals in California's senate have put ethics in the spotlight and Capital Public Radio's Katie Orr spoke with former staffers to see what the discussion is like when no one is looking.
California Genetically Modified Food Labeling Bill Passes Senate Committee
Tuesday, April 22, 2014Any genetically modified food product sold in California would have to come labeled as such under a bill that passed a state Senate committee Tuesday.