Clyde issues statement on lawsuit challenging disenfranchisement of 17-year-old voters

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) issued the following statement in response to a lawsuit brought by a number of eligible 17-year-old voters challenging Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted’s directive to exclude them from presidential primary voting:

“Ohio law is clear and has permitted those who will be 18 years old before the November election to vote in the presidential primary since 1981. Disenfranchising eligible voters is wrong, creates confusion, and drives people away from the voting process. I applaud these extraordinary young Ohioans in their fight to be able to vote in our state’s presidential primary.”

A copy of the lawsuit can be found here.