16 & 17 year old Voter Registration bill is up for a vote in the house today!

The Bus office is on the edge of our seats. Today, our favorite bill HB 2205 is up for a vote in front of the full house. For those who don't remember HB 2205 would allow 16 & 17 year olds to pre-register to vote. Though you would still have to be 18 to vote this bill is still ridiculously exciting because it would allow us to get out the vote at high-schools.

However there are a few amendments that have to be debated and voted on before the full bill can be passed. Some of these are friendly (read administrative, tweaking language without changing the meaning of the bill) including amendments by our main man Rep.Spoke-Andy Billig (D-3) and Head Higher-Ed Honcho Rep. Hans Zeiger (R-25).

However two amendments one by Rep. Overstreet (R-42) and the other by Rep. Taylor (R-15) would significantly change the bill. Rep. Overstreet's amendment would require 16 & 17 year olds to confirm their address by responding to a piece of mail sent by the secretary of state. This is a pretty clear attempt to mitigate the effect of this bill by placing a barrier that no other voter has to go through.

In a similar attempt to derail the bill, Rep. Taylor's amendment  would require 16 & 17 year olds to present valid photo ID at to register, something many 16 & 17 year olds don't have. Cross your fingers that this bill will pass without the amendments.