NC elections rules may prevent registered 17-year-olds from voting on Defense of Marriage act

Seth Keel, a 17-year-old senior at Middle Creek High School in Apex, will be allowed to vote for the candidates he supports in the 2012 primaries but not on a referendum he strongly opposes.

In May, 17-year-olds — like Keel, who will be of legal voting age by the general election — will not be allowed to vote on the Defense of Marriage Amendment, which will appear as a referendum on the primary ballots.

Registered voters who are 17 years old but who will turn 18 by the general election, are allowed to vote in North Carolina and other states, including Virginia and Ohio.

But since the referendum will not be on the general election ballot, separate ballots will have to be made for 17-year-olds to be able to vote in the primaries, which could cost the state money, said Gary Sims, deputy director of the Wake County Board of Elections.

“The more ballot styles, the more people it takes,” he said.

“Everyone has to understand that these are not things we budgeted for when we submitted our budget this year,” he said.

Jen Jones, spokeswoman for Equality NC, said she thinks printing these separate ballots would be a waste of money.

“First and foremost, this signifies that the amendment is again a wasteful use of taxpayer dollars,” Jones said.

Besides the added costs to the state, Keel said excluding 17-yearolds is unfair.

“I think it is very disenfranchising, especially for those who identify with LGBT, that they will not be able to vote on an amendment that will determine a part of their future,” he said.

But political experts agree that allowing 17-year-olds to vote probably wouldn’t have an effect on the outcome of the amendment.

Damon Circosta, executive director of the N.C. Center for Voter Education, said allowing 17-year-olds to vote would not have a significant effect even though younger people are more likely to vote against the amendment, he said.

“If you looked at attitudes on gay marriage, young people tend to have more tolerance for single-sex unions than older people,” he said.

But Circosta said that age group typically has a low voter turnout.

Mitch Kokai, spokesman for the right-leaning John Locke Foundation, said allowing 17-year-olds to vote would still not stop the amendment from passing.

“Polls show support in the two-thirds range,” he said.

“If there was only 51 percent support for the amendment, then 17-year-olds could swing the vote.”

Kokai said whether 17-year-olds should be allowed to vote on the referendum is a question that could later be settled by legislation or by another amendment.

“It’s a good argument or discussion to have,” he said.

The referendum got on the May ballot after N.C. General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment last month saying marriage is only between a man and a woman.

If voters pass the referendum, the amendment will officially be written into the state’s constitution.

Contact the State & National Editor at state@dailytarheel.com.