(NECN: Jack Thurston, Colchester, Vt.) - Monday was a big day for Shelby Losier and Eleanor Johnson, both 17, both of Colchester, Vt. The classmates headed to the town clerk's office in Colchester to register to vote. "It's kind of like becoming an adult," Losier said, smiling.
Vermont recently changed its constitution to allow teens who are close to voting age, but aren't there yet, to participate in primaries. On March 6, they will be able to pick the candidates they want on the ballot in November. By that time, they'll be fully eligible to vote. "Your vote is your voice, now I finally have a voice," Johnson said.
In addition to Vermont, 18 other states, including Maine, allow 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections as long as they'll be 18 by the general election. "It's an exciting time for Vermont," said Secretary of State Jim Condos, D-Vt.
Condos said he's received a lot of inquiries about the new rule change, and noted that many high schools have been reminding students how to register. Seniors at Bellows Free Academy in Fairfax even produced a public service announcement about the constitutional amendment, called Proposition 5.
A recent poll of 800 Vermont primary voters conducted by the Castleton Polling Institute at Castleton State College, showed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney leading the Republican pack. The poll showed him besting former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum by seven points, with a margin of error of 3.5 percent. In 2008, Vermont's liberal leanings put the state quickly and easily into President Obama's win column.
"You get to have your say now," Losier said of her excitement to vote in this election cycle.
On Super Tuesday March 6, Vermont election officials don't know how many 17-year-olds will turn out, or if enough will declare themselves as Republicans to influence the outcome. Condos hopes the voter-approved Proposition 5 inspires young people to get politically active and stay that way. "They're ready to do this," Condos said. "And the voters obviously thought so too, because they approved it 81 percent to 19 percent. So it was a strong, strong vote."
Politics
"This new law definitely gets the younger generation revved up to start voting," Johnson said.
Vermonters have to register to vote at their town or city clerk's office by the end of the business day Wednesday February 29, whether they're 97, or now, 17. "It feels liberating!" Johnson beamed, after filling out her registration paperwork.
