Some older Bay Area teens will have a chance to make their voices heard in this election, albeit in a limited way.
Although they cannot yet vote in high-profile elections such as those for president or Congress, 16- and 17-year-olds living in Oakland and Berkeley will be able to cast ballots in upcoming school board elections, which determine local district leadership and policies.
The vote was extended thanks to the passage of Berkeley's Measure Y1 and Oakland's Measure QQ, according to a joint press release.
The state already has a system in place that allows 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote, with their registration becoming active once they turn 18, officials said. The same system will be used to allow them to vote in local school board elections, but not in other races scheduled at the same time, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.
“This has never been done before in California and we had to make sure it was done correctly,” Alameda County Voter Registrar Tim Dupuis said in a statement. “I would like to thank the Board of Supervisors for their support in making it possible for 16- and 17-year-olds in Oakland and Berkeley to vote for school board in November 2024.”
Four of the seven Oakland Unified School District board seats are up for election in November, as are two in the Berkeley Unified School District.
“Voting is not just a right but a civic duty, and expanding this right to 16- and 17-year-olds will foster a culture of civic engagement from an early age,” Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said in a statement.
While the goal of this new policy is to increase youth turnout, its effects will not be known until after the polls close, and many minors may choose not to vote.
“Personally, I’m not that big on politics, especially by today’s standards,” Naseem Bennett, a 17-year-old Oakland Tech senior, told the Mercury News. “But would I vote? I would think about it.”
