A proposed amendment to California's constitution would give 16-year-olds a half-vote and 14-year-olds a quarter-vote in state elections. State Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, was among four lawmakers to propose the idea on Monday. [...]

"When we gave the vote to those who didn't own property, then to women, then to persons of all colors, we added to the richness of our democratic dialogue and our own nation's integrity and its model for the world," Vasconcellos said, calling it time to further extend the vote.

A Republican colleague said it was "the nuttiest idea I've ever heard."

[...] Vasconcellos said the reason for not giving teenagers a full vote was "strategic. "If I said 16 full and 14 full, I think it wouldn't have much legs." But he added, "In my heart I think 16-year-olds should be given a full vote."

See Also: Wild in the Streets (1968), Logan's Run (1976) (the book was better.)