SACRAMENTO — California would become the first state in the nation to allow 17-year-olds to vote in a general election under a proposed state constitutional amendment introduced this week by a Silicon Valley legislator.
In 1971, 18-year-olds across the United States won the right to vote through the 26th Amendment. But the U.S. Constitution doesn’t prevent states from further lowering the voting age, notes the measure’s main sponsor, Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Cupertino.
In his opening monologue at Sunday night’s Oscar ceremony, host Jimmy Kimmel wondered aloud:
“If every one of you took a minute to reach out to one person you disagree with, someone you like, and have one positive, considerate conversation — not as liberals or conservatives, but as Americans — if we could all do that, we could make America great again. It starts with us.”
“It starts with us” is an approach the two of us have taken on one of the most divisive issues facing America right now.
SACRAMENTO—Members of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus joined Equality California, the Transgender Law Center, ACLU, and others today to denounce the Trump Administration’s recent reversal of transgender bathroom protections. The reversal was announced late Wednesday night in a joint letter from the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education.
SACRAMENTO—Chair of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus, Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley) released the following statement regarding the Trump Administration’s recent reversal of transgender bathroom protections.
SACRAMENTO—Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley) introduced legislation today to establish Dream Resource Centers at California’s public colleges and universities. AB 1622 will ensure college campuses offer a centralized location to provide specialized support services and resources for undocumented students.
On January 27, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning nationals from seven Muslim majority countries – popularly referred to as the Muslim ban. This is a thinly-veiled xenophobic reaction that takes advantage of the growing racial prejudice and hysteria over economic uncertainty in our country.
SACRAMENTO—Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Silicon Valley), Chair of the California Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee, introduced a package of bills this week to improve voter participation, eliminate barriers to voting, and fight back against those who seek to deny Californians their voting rights.
As Chair of the California Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee in the state Legislature, I was shocked and dismayed to hear President Donald Trump continue to make irresponsible and unfounded allegations about widespread voter fraud in California.
State and county election administrators and other public officials – Republican and Democratic alike – have repeatedly warned that these false assertions undermine the public’s trust in our elections. If President Trump has evidence of widespread voter fraud, he should share it with election officials so that it can be investigated. In the absence of such evidence, however, I can only conclude that the President’s statements are nothing more than a transparent attempt to distract people from the fact that he lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes.
California will continue to hold free and fair elections to choose their elected officials under my watch. Any efforts to curb voting access through intimidation or to purge voter rolls of eligible citizens will be met with fierce resistance.
I look forward to working with my colleagues and Governor Brown to improving our democratic process.
Sincerely,
Evan Low
Chair, Committee on Elections and Redistricting
Assemblymember, 28th District
