An amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution to be introduced by state Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, could give 17-year-olds the right to vote in state and local elections.
This change, which at least 10 other states have passed or are considering, would not allow 17-year-olds to vote in federal elections because the U.S. Constitution prohibits it.
""Allowing people to vote for the first time in high school will start them on what I hope will be a lifetime practice,"" Mason said in a statement.
UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said allowing 17-year-olds to vote would be an interesting experiment, but he is not convinced it would significantly impact turnout among young voters.
Franklin said he expects 17-year-olds to vote even less regularly than 18-year-olds, who currently have the lowest turnout.
""I don't see why you think modern 17-year-olds would be in any serious way stimulated to vote,"" Franklin said, adding that voter turnout was the lowest out of every age group among 18- to 20-year-olds when they were enfranchised in 1972.
To become an amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution, the change would have to be passed in two consecutive Legislative sessions and then receive a majority vote in a statewide public referendum.
