As the primary season continues, 17-year-olds in certain states have been among the voters taking to the polls to decide who will appear on the November presidential ballot. While the federal voting age is 18, some states allow 17-year-olds to vote in their primary if they will be 18 by the time of the general election.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 19 states and Washington, D.C. have passed this legislation. New Jersey was the most recent state to approve such legislation; on Jan. 4, Gov. Phil Murphy signed the “New Voter Empowerment Act” into law. However, New Jersey’s updated law will not take effect until 2026, so its citizens under 18 still cannot vote in this year’s presidential primary election.
Legislation surrounding the voting age in primaries and general elections has long been a point of contention. When Congress passed a bill to lower the eligible draft age to 18 in 1942, ‘Old enough to fight, old enough to vote’ became popular as a slogan for the growing movement to decrease the voting age from 21 to 18. Individual states, such as Georgia and Kentucky, reduced the voting age for their state and local elections to 18, but Congress did not enact a federal change until 1970 with an amendment to the Voting Rights Act. However, the Supreme Court ruled in the 1970 case Oregon v. Mitchell that while the voting age would remain 18 for federal elections, the federal government could not make laws for state and local elections. Protests ensued until the 26th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1971, reducing the voting age to 18. Then, in 1972, Delaware and Maryland became the first states to enable 17-year-olds who would be 18 by the general election to vote in their primaries.
Senior Bridget Keel, who is 17 years old and will be 18 in November, believes Minnesota should adopt legislation allowing every individual who will be of age by the general election a vote in the primaries. “I think it makes a lot of sense … voices that will be heard in the general election should be represented during the primaries as well,” she said.

Currently, Minnesota voters in all elections must be at least 18 years old on Election Day. However, Minnesota is one of 18 states (plus Washington, D.C.) allowing voter pre-registration starting at age 16, based on NCSL’s data. In addition to the age requirement, to vote in Minnesota, Secretary of State Steve Simon’s official website explains that one must be a US citizen and a resident of Minnesota for at least 20 days. Minnesota law also stipulates that individuals currently incarcerated for a felony sentence cannot vote, nor can individuals with a court order removing their voting rights.
Junior Theo Su plans to vote in the November presidential election, though he could not vote in the primary as he is currently 17. He connects the right to vote with other responsibilities and rights that young adults attain: “I think [voting is] important because it feels like a coming-of-age ritual … it’s about gaining your own political power in this country, [and] I think that’s a very important thing for people to be able to do when they begin to come of age,” he said.
In the 53 years since the 26th Amendment was added to the Constitution, voting rights have remained controversial. Keel believes in the importance of youth engagement in elections: “[Young voters] are the upcoming generation of who’s going to be living in and running this country. And if we don’t have representation now, when are we going to get it?”