States with pre-registration laws enable young people to register as future voters, even if they won’t turn 18 before Election Day. Voters are then automatically registered once they turn 18. Allowing future voters to pre-register before they turn 18 — for example, when they first get a driver’s license — is an important policy to ensure that every voter is registered and able to vote as soon as she is eligible.
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14 states — California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Utah — plus the District of Columbia, allow or have enacted legislation allowing 16 or 17 year-olds to pre-register to vote even if they won’t turn 18 before Election Day.