Michigan 16-year-olds can preregister to vote. Here's how.

Sixteen-year-olds in Michigan can't vote for a couple of years. But they can take a step toward filling out their first ballot now by preregistering to vote.

A new law that passed along party lines earlier this year lets 16-year-olds preregister to vote with the Secretary of State. Backers of the legislation hope it will boost youth voter turnout in future elections. Others who opposed say it will complicate Michigan's voter rolls.

Here's a rundown of how preregistration works:

What is preregistration?

Prior to the new law, Michiganders could register as young as 17? years old as long as they’d be 18 by Election Day. Now, 16-year-olds can preregister to vote, which will make them eligible to vote when they turn 18. “Once preregistered, individuals would automatically have active voter registrations when they reach the eligible registration age,” the Secretary of State's website says.

To preregister, a 16- to 17-year-old or a family member can request a form from their local clerk’s office, or fill out the form digitally at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Who is eligible to preregister to vote?

The teen must be a Michigan resident, U.S. citizen, at least 16 years old, and not actively serving a prison sentence. Eligible teens will be able to participate in early or absentee voting, as long as they turn 18 on or before Election Day.

What’s important for parents to know?

The Secretary of State notes that young voters are more likely to vote if a parent educates them about the voting process, but the law specifies rules for parents. A parent cannot preregister their child to vote or forge their child’s signature on the application.

Parents should also know that if their teen preregisters at a different address, like a college address, the address on their state ID or driver's license will change as well, which may affect dependent insurance coverage or a child's dependent status for tax purposes.

What does preregistration do?

Preregistration is intended to increase turnout among young people. State Rep. Besty Coffia, D-Traverse City, who sponsored the bill, said that in other states with preregistration in place, there’s an increase in youth participation in their first election, regardless of political affiliation.

A 2015 study in the American Journal of Political Science says states with preregistration laws tend to see an increase in turnout, primarily when changes in law are followed by voter drives in high schools or other efforts to reach students 16 and older.

Laura Brill, director of The Civics Center, a California-based nonpartisan effort that advocates for preregistration laws, emphasized those efforts to reach students.

“In California, we’ve had preregistration since 2016, but there’s been very little done in terms of resources from the government to get it implemented,” said Brill, who said voter drives at high schools are crucial because college drives can miss students who don't attend college.

Who supported preregistration and why?

The bill was widely lauded by local and national organizations that advocate for voting rights and easier ballot access, including Promote the Vote, All Voting is Local and the League of Women Voters. But reactions were more varied in Lansing. It passed 56-52 in the state House, with Democrats voting for and Republicans voting against.

Proponents of the law said that preregistration will make young people more likely to vote when they turn 18, simplify high school registration drives and give students more time to prepare for their first voting experience.

“Allowing young people to register, especially while they’re taking civics classes, will help set democracy up for success in the future,” said Stella Camerlengo, communications director for the Michigan College Democrats.

Michael Siegrist, Canton clerk, spoke at a House Elections Committee hearing last year in support of the bill. He said when conducting voter registration drives at high schools in his community, he hated the fact that he couldn’t register a student who was slightly younger than 17?. He also said he couldn’t think of a reason why 16- and 17-year-olds could be poll workers, but couldn’t preregister to vote.

Who opposed preregistration and why?

Opponents of preregistration said they are concerned that registering future voters further complicates election administration and will lead to lower public confidence in Michigan elections.

State Rep. Ann Bollin, R-Brighton Twp., a former clerk, said that the influx of regulations that election officials must follow removes checks and balances between clerks and the Secretary of State. “It’s not that we don’t trust young people. It’s the burden on the system, on our local clerks and administrators,” Bollin said. “They have to set up an extra database system because 16- and 17-year-olds can’t vote.”

Clerks often have to handle the inactive registrations of citizens who leave Michigan. Bollin’s concern is that clerks will be overwhelmed by the addition of having to manage an influx of inactive voters who preregister.

Young conservatives have similar reservations. “It’s a good idea to encourage young people to vote and get active in politics,” Krish Mathrani, a conservative youth activist, said in a statement. “But our SOS should focus on fair and transparent elections before further encouraging other ideas.”

How many voters are we talking about?

The Secretary of State’s Office was unable to provide the Detroit Free Press with information about preregistration statistics.There is limited information on the number of preregistered Michigan teens, in part because of a clause in the law that prohibits the records of preregistrants from being made public.

“I included this because we’re registering minors,” says state Rep. Coffia, a Democrat from Traverse City and the author of the bill. “Until they turn 18, I don’t want their information to be available before they’re of age.”

Here is what is known: About 130,000 people turn 18 in Michigan every year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Approximately 1.3 million young Michiganders, aged 18 to 29, are active registered voters.

But a new report by the state shows that more work is needed to get young people who are registered to vote. Forty percent of registered voters ages 18 to 29 did not cast a ballot in the 2020 presidential election.

Michigan has a historic status as a swing state with low margins of victory, and bridging the young voter gap would increase youth participation, and could influence races up and down the ballot.

In its report, the state cites a 2018 study out of Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research On Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE, showing that 52% of young voters who did not vote “needed to rearrange work or school schedules,” or “did not know where to vote.”

According to a 2023 CIRCLE study, young people who did not vote in 2020 and were unlikely to vote in 2024 were much less likely than other youths in the study to have seen information about elections and registration.

One proposed solution by the state is to partner with schools and workplaces to distribute nonpartisan voter education information. The state put an emphasis on reaching young people who don’t attend college by partnering with trade schools and apprentice programs. Additionally, the report recommends sharing voter information on social media platforms young people are already using, in the ways they tend to consume that information, suggesting videos and infographics.

Jaxson Kaplan-Rudolph, a Detroit Free Press high school apprentice, is a rising senior at the International Academy in West Bloomfield.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan 16-year-olds can preregister to vote. Here's how.