CHICAGO — Fresh off its win from the signing of automatic voter registration last week, the Just Democracy Illinois coalition applauded Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth’s introduction of the PROVE Act (The Pre-Registration Of Voters Everywhere Act). Pre-registration would allow otherwise eligible 16- and 17 year-olds to register to vote, so that their registration would become active as soon as they become eligible by age. In Illinois, voters are eligible to vote in general elections at 18, and at 17 in primaries if the voter will be 18 by the general election.

In recent years, Illinois has enacted several laws to encourage and increase voter participation, including: automatic, online, and same-day voter registration laws, and expanding early voting periods.

Just last week, with the signing of the bill to create automatic voter registration, Illinois cemented its status as a national leader on voting rights and increasing access to the ballot box.

“Our democracy is best served when we all do our part to encourage voter participation,” said Stevie Valles, Executive Director of Chicago Votes, a non-profit which focuses on leadership development and Chicago youth political participation. “Policies like pre-registration can act as a down payment on democracy to get young people civically engaged even before they turn 18 and make voting a habit throughout their lives.”

Illinois lags behind the rest of the United States when it comes to youth voter turnout. Pre-registration has been successful in 14 other states, allowing high school students to pre-register as part of civics courses. Combined with automatic voter registration in Illinois, Senator Duckworth’s bill would remove unnecessary barriers for 16- and 17-year-olds by pre-registering them to vote when they get their driver’s licenses or state IDs and placing them on the voter rolls automatically when they turn 18.

A pre-registration policy was included in the first draft of automatic voter registration legislation in 2016 but was negotiated out, and was not included in the final legislation signed into law last week. Illinois State Rep. Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park) has introduced pre-registration bills in recent years, including HB 3909 earlier this year.

Just Democracy Illinois is led by a steering committee that includes Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago, CHANGE Illinois, Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Chicago Votes, Common Cause Illinois, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and Illinois PIRG.