Bill Text: HI HCR63 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urging The Commission To Promote And Advance Civic Education To Conduct A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Feasibility And Implications Of Lowering The Voting Age For State And Local Elections From Eighteen To Sixteen Years Of Age.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-22 - The committee(s) on JHA recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HCR63 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2021-HCR63-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	63
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

Urging the commission to promote and advance civic education to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the feasibility and implications of lowering the voting age for state and local elections from eighteen to sixteen years of age.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, over one-half of registered voters, and slightly less than one-third of voters aged eighteen to twenty-nine years of age, cast ballots in Hawaii during the 2018 general election; and

 

     WHEREAS, studies show that voting is a habit that may be acquired during a voter's first election; and

 

     WHEREAS, early voting experiences are an important determinant of future voting behavior and developing a regular routine of voting activism at an early age tends to significantly increase the probability that the person will continue to vote in future elections; and

 

     WHEREAS, evidence from jurisdictions that lowered the voting age to sixteen years of age demonstrates that sixteen years of age, rather than eighteen years of age, is a better time to start the habit of voting; and

 

     WHEREAS, this evidence suggests that extending voting rights to Hawaii residents aged sixteen and seventeen, coupled with robust civic education at the high school level, will likely increase the civic engagement of young people and help instill a culture of voting that will lead to higher voter turnout among all demographics in the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, sixteen- and seventeen-year-old persons should be able to vote on matters that directly impact them since they work and pay taxes; drive; and, in some cases, may be married, have children, or even be tried in adult courts; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Supreme Court adopted new Rule 23 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii, creating the Commission to Promote and Advance Civic Education; and

 

     WHEREAS, the purpose of the Commission to Promote and Advance Civic Education is to promote and advance civic education for students and citizens throughout the State; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the Senate concurring, that the Commission to Promote and Advance Civic Education is urged to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the feasibility and implications of lowering the voting age for state and local elections from eighteen to sixteen years of age; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Commission to Promote and Advance Civic Education is requested to submit this report to the Governor and the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, and Chairperson of the Commission to Promote and Advance Civic Education.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Commission to Promote and Advance Civic Education; Comprehensive Analysis; Lowering Voting Age