VISTA — A councilwoman’s report regarding new statewide voting laws took center stage at the Aug. 8 meeting of the Vista City Council.
While other members concluded the meeting with various remarks, Councilwoman Amanda Rigby reported the details of a summer workshop she attended in Monterey. She was the cities’ appointed representative.
Secretary of State Alex Padilla spoke at the 2017 League of California Cities Mayors and Council Members Executive Forum in Monterey from June 27 to 28.
“He came to talk to us about some of the new laws that are going to be taking effect regarding voting in California starting in 2018,” Rigby said. “One of the things that they’re doing is people can register to vote at the age of 16.”
Lowering the voting age to 16 would represent a significant change for the state of California. Eighteen is the current registration age. Rigby was quick to point out that this would simply make pre-registration possible at 16. The official voting age will remain age 18.
“When we have a voting day, an election day, there is going to be 11 days of voting in California, and the last day would be the 11th day,” she said.
Weekend voting might also be in the works.
As it stands now, voters from all cities in the region and unincorporated areas are assigned precincts by the Registrar of Voters at the county of San Diego. A registered voter may only vote at their assigned precinct. But Padilla told the attendees of the workshop that voters will be permitted to vote at any precinct, Rigby said.
“People could vote anywhere,” she said. “And not just in their precinct.”
“So, there are a lot of different things coming down with the new election laws,” Rigby said, noting how significant these changes will be.
