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House amends and approves bill to let soon-to-be 18-year-olds vote in primaries
Summary
With amendments to protect privacy, the House passed HB 281 to allow 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the general election to vote in primary elections; supporters said it creates an 'on-ramp' to lifelong voting while opponents raised concerns about public records and consistency.
The Utah House on Feb. 23 passed an amended measure, HB 281, to allow 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the general election to vote in primary elections. The change is intended to align primary participation with other party activities already open to that age group.
Representative Briscoe, sponsor of the bill, said many states already allow the practice and described the measure as a way to "open the on-ramp" to civic participation for young people. Briscoe proposed and won adoption of an amendment to keep the voting records of those 17-year-old voters private until they turn 18 so that candidates and campaigns cannot access them in advance.
Opponents and some members worried the amendment conflicted with the bill’s premise of treating these eligible 17-year-olds as full participants in the primary process; Representative Thurston said the amendment could be inconsistent with the bill’s message that these individuals are adults for primary purposes. Sponsor Briscoe countered that the privacy measure simply prevents early release of names to campaigns and would not prevent post-election verification.
The amended bill passed the House by a vote of 51–18 and will be transmitted to the Utah Senate for consideration.
