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For the first time in Maine, certain 17-year-olds are eligible to vote in the presidential caucuses, delighting many.

By BETH QUIMBY Staff Writer February 2, 2008

If Maine's Republican and Democratic caucuses seem to be drawing younger voters than ever, well, that's because they are.

This is the first year in which 17-year-olds can participate in the state's presidential preference process, under a four- year-old law that lets them vote in primaries or caucuses if they will turn 18 by the time of the general election, which this year will be held Nov. 4.

Thousands of Maine teenagers are eligible to vote in the GOP caucuses today and Sunday, and the Democratic caucuses on Feb. 10. And while they may not have much impact on the statewide results, their presence could make a difference in small towns where there are fewer registered voters.

"So all of a sudden, five 17-year-olds could show up and matter," said Mark Brewer, a political scientist at the University of Maine.

"It is pretty exciting," said Clara Berry, a senior at Kennebunk High School who will turn 18 in May and plans to attend the Democratic caucus in Kennebunk.

Nobody knows how many 17-year-olds plan to participate in the caucuses. Under state law, they can register to vote at the events. Portland City Clerk Linda Cohen said none had registered in recent weeks. Susan Mooney, South Portland's city clerk, said two registered last week.

"They are not coming out of the woodwork," Mooney said.

One reason for that, said Maine House Speaker Glenn Cummings, D-Portland, is that there haven't been presidential caucuses since the law took effect in 2006, so many 17-year- olds may be unaware that they can participate.

Cummings, a former high school civics teacher, was the original sponsor of the law, which is similar to laws in Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio and Virginia.

Cummings said he pushed for the 17-year-old vote to get young people in the habit. He said research shows that a person who votes once is four to five times as likely to vote in the future as someone who has never voted.

"There was a desire to try to get every 17-year-old in a Maine high school registered and to have voted once before leaving high school," he said.

Some teenage voters have been campaigning to register 17- year-olds for the caucuses. Ben Goodman, 18, a Kennebunk High School senior who is Maine's high school director of students for Barack Obama's campaign, said a group at his school has been trying to get out the 17-year-old vote.

"We have tried to get the word out here and through Facebook," he said, referring to the online social networking site.

Isaac Nault, 17, plans to attend today's York County Republican caucus in Sanford. On Friday, he was leaning toward supporting Ron Paul, the Texas congressman.

Nault said he began following the campaigns much more closely once he realized he could vote in the caucus. "I was really happy when I learned I would be able to vote."

Teachers said the lower voting age for caucuses has made classroom discussions of presidential politics more real for many students. Stephanie Doane, a humanities social studies teacher at Casco Bay High School in Portland, said that as part of a project on public policy, students must take some sort of civic or political action or step.

Some of her students are doing so by participating in the caucuses. "We have a lot of kids who wish they could," Doane said.

Both Democratic and Republican Party officials said they hope the new group of eligible voters will boost turnout at their caucuses.

Arden Manning, executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, said his party has been sending out e-mails and getting college Democrats to help spread the word. "It is a difficult demographic to get at," he said.

Julie Ann O'Brien, executive director of the Maine Republican Party, said her party has made some effort to reach out, but not as much as she would have liked.

"We will do more to educate them about the general election," she said.

Staff Writer Beth Quimby can be contacted at 791-6363 or at:

bquimby@pressherald.com