Texas Bills Seek to Open Primaries to Qualifying 17-year-olds

A trio of resolutions in the Texas Legislature would amend the constitution to let some teens on the cusp of legal adulthood vote in primary elections if they will turn 18 by the general election.

The resolutions all are identical and sponsored by Democrats: Rep. Donna Howard of Austin and Sens. Judith Zaffirini of Laredo and Sarah Eckhardt of Austin. They are accompanied by another trio of bills in their respective chambers to revise state statutes to follow the constitutional amendment.

Those changes still would retain existing prohibitions on who can vote. In order to vote in the Texas general election, a person must:

• Be a U.S. citizen,
• Not have been found “totally” or “partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote” by a final court judgement,
• Not have been convicted of a felony, unless fully discharged or pardoned, and
• Be a resident of the county in which he or she is registered to vote.

To successfully amend the Texas constitution, two-thirds of each of its chambers must independently adopt a joint resolution to place the question on the general election ballot. From there, a simple majority of votes from the public suffices to adopt the amendment.

In its history, the Texas Legislature has passed 714 constitutional amendments, 530 of which were adopted by voters. During its last regular session, the Legislature successfully passed 12 amendments to the state constitution.

Primaries can be more important than the general election, especially in districts that skew strongly blue or red. That’s why it’s important to allow engaged young adults to participate in primaries, Howard argued.

“If a young person is going to be 18 years old on election day and eligible to vote, it makes sense to allow them to participate in the primary process that shapes the ballot,” Howard told The Texan on Jan. 29. “This bill would ensure fairness and inclusivity while upholding the integrity of our democratic process.”

Howard’s bill and resolution in the House have not yet been referred to a committee. Both of the bills in the Senate, and their accompanying joint resolutions, have been referred to the Senate Committee on State Affairs, which has jurisdiction over bills that would change the voting process, among other topics.

The State Affairs Committee is the most Republican committee in the Senate. Though Republicans make up just 64% of the Senate, they account for nearly 91% of the members of that committee — all but one of its 11 seats. Zaffirini will be the only Democrat on the body.

Howard’s proposals are House Bill 2074 and House Joint Resolution 122. Zaffirini’s introductions are Senate Bill 68 and Senate Joint Resolution 9, while Eckhardt’s are SB 630 and SJR 29.