Democrats clean up with 17 year-old voters

Since Jan. 1, some 25,656 Marylanders have registered to vote.

But that number was almost far lower.

At the urging of both parties last month, Attorney General Doug Gansler, a Democrat, decided the State Board of Elections should allow those who will be 18 years-old by the November general election to register and vote in the state primary.

According to numbers released this afternoon, 15,235 of the newly registered are 17 year-olds. Of those, state Democrats announced 8,593 – about 68% – are now officially members of their party, maintaining their 3-1 advantage over state Republicans.

They also noted that “either by mistake or choice,” 2,604 17 year-olds did not pick a party affiliation and are thus ineligible to vote in the Feb. 12 primary. 4,092 registered as Republicans.

In a statement, Democratic Chair Michael Cryor thanked Gansler, Governor Martin O’Malley and state Senator Jamie Raskin for “continued efforts to ensure voting rights for 17 year-olds.”