Louis J. Marinelli is in favor of granting 16-year olds and non-citizens the right to vote, but that’s not where the quirky ideas end. The primary challenger running to represent San Diego in the Assembly is also in favor of making California an independent nation, according to San Diego Patch.
Marinelli equates the maturity to drive and drop out of high school with the maturity to vote.
“What a great way to instill a sense of civic duty at a young age. Bernie Sanders’s political revolution is proof that our youth can be engaged in this process and we should encourage that,” he said.
To bring about change, “we need to expand the voter pool,” Marinelli claimed. “If the same limited number of people go out and vote in every election, we’re going to essentially see the same results in every election. You want change? Get more people to vote. That’s what this legislation achieves,” he continued.
Other advocates have supported lowing the voting age for similar reasons and to “drive demand for better civic education in schools.”
Marinelli and others may be engaging the wrong demographic. Young people have had historically low turnouts, and for the 2012 and 2014 elections had the smallest number of youth voters, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
He believes keeping non-citizens from the franchise is contrary to the nation’s founding:
Marinelli is the chairman of the California National Party, which wants to make California an independent country. Since there are not enough registered voters with the party to qualify for the ballot, Marinelli will be listed as having no party preference.
Marinelli’s initiatives, none of which made the ballot, included:
- California’s autonomy established by an advisory group
- A vote every four years on whether California should remain a separate nation
- Making the governor the president of California
- Displaying the California flag above the American flag
- Banning out-of-state contributions to California elections
- Taxing bottled water containing any water collected in California
The CNP website, listed by its Facebook and Twitter accounts, redirects to a Go Daddy page. To register for the party online, those interested had to select other and specify the party’s name.
Other parties attempting to qualify for status included the American Freedom Party, the Transhumanist Party, and the UCES’ Clowns Party, according to The Sacramento Bee.
