University of Southern California
SUMMER ® TROJAN
VOL. LXII, NO. 4	LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Prof says 18-year-old vote law may fan states' rights battle
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FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 1970
By MELODY GILLARD Editor
The continuous battle between states’ rights and federal powers may once again come to a head—this time regarding Congress’ recent action allowing 18 year olds the right to vote. As of yet, no one knows the outcome or exactly what strategies will be followed. But it is quite likely that the matter will be settled by the Supreme Court.
Last week Congress passed a law granting 18 year olds the right to vote, President Richard Nixon signed it, and it will become effective Jan. 1, 1971—that is, unless it is declared unconstitutional.
If Congress’ decision is to be challenged, who is likely to do it and on what will the Supreme Court base its ruling—one that is sure to become a landmark decision?
Although no one can be absolutely sure, Dr. Carl Christol, a professor of political science and international law, outlined the route the matter may take.
The 10th Amendment to the Constitution states ihat any powers not given to the national government or prohibited to the states are reserved to the states and the people.
On this basis, since there is no power directly vested in Congress or prohibited to the states concerning voting age, the states could still claim their laws prevail until the Supreme Court has ruled that the federal law is constitutional, Christol said.
“Until the Supreme Court speaks, the states are going to follow their own laws, unless they repeal them,” he said.
Currently, only four states allow people under 21 to vote. In Kentucky and Georgia, the voting age is already 18, in Alaska it is 19, and Hawaii, 20.
The case which the Supreme Court may eventually hear will have to be begun by someone between 18 and the required voting age in the state where he lives, Christol said.
In California, an 18 year old may go to register to vote and be told that since he is not 21, the state’s requirement, he will not be allowed to do so. If this happens, the applicant may decide to take' his case to court.
His complaint would first be heard at the state level, and then perhaps by the Supreme Court. Christol said a person over the legal voting
EFFECT OF YOUNG VOTE
age can not initiate the challenge to the new federal law, adding that a suit must be the result of an actual hurt or denial of rights, not a fictitious case. Therefore, Congress can not directly ask the Supreme Court to make a decision.
If an actual case does reach the Supreme Court, it is hard to tell how the court will rule, but Christol said the judges may refer to a 1941 case, U.S. v. Classics.
In this case, the question was whether or not some elected officials could be put in jail under national laws for reporting fraudulent election returns in fhe state of Louisiana. In a 5-3 decision, the court ruled that the national government could regulate elections when state officials reported fraudulent returns.
The basis for the court’s ruling was Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution which states:
“The times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators.”
“The result we get from this is that the United States government has some authority over primary elections—over the time, places and manner of holding state elections,” Christol said.
“If the law is to be held constitutional, it has to be held constitutional as part of the regulation of the manner of holding such elections. This would mean the word manner would not be applied in its literal meaning.”
If this were to happen, Christol said, the court’s argument might be that since the nation is now more of a unit than it was in its days of formation, it may now be more important to set a nationally-uniform standard for the voting age.
Another way Congress’ action may be handled, Christol said, is for the states to rule that 18 year olds can vote for national office holders, but that a person may not vote on state issues until he reaches the state’s required voting age.
Probably the most difficult way of settling the matter, and the way most destined for defeat, would be passage of an amendment to the federal Consiitution, a measure that would first require a two-thirds pass vote from both houses of Congress, and then a three-fourths pass vote in each of the 50 state legislatures.
New vitality, same victors seen
If 18 year olds receive the right to vote, it may not affect the outcome of elections, but it might raise the information level of the electorate and inject new vitality into the two-party system, Thomas Greene, associate professor of political science, said.
Records going back to the 1920s show that the young electorate only padded the winner’s margin, Greene said.
“If the voting age is lowered, it is probably the 18 to 24-year-old electorate who will be the least likely to vote,” he said, adding that it is a well-established fact that those between 21 and 24 have the worst ratio of participation of any age group.
Greene said this is probably due, in part, to the fact that younger voters often do not have a permanent home, a family or established jobs, and thus their interest in elections is not as keen as a middle-aged voter. Youths, he said, are a mobile group which is in the process of developing routines.
But, he added, even though the young electorate may have the worst participation record, it is not a legitimate basis for rejecting a lowered voting age.
"It is important to give young citizens a chance to participate in politics right after high school when their knowledge is likely to be at a peak,” Greene said. “It would reinforce their educational experience.” Most high schools require students to take government and civics classes in their senior year.
A survey Greene conducted showed that high school students were much more informed about politicians and the organization of government than the general electorate. A poll taken in 1964, following an election campaign in which the
Vietnam war was a central issue, showed that 26 percent of the people sampled had never even heard of the Vietnam war. The poll was taken by people with widely divergent backgrounds.
Even though young voters may be well informed, the young electorate is more likely to vote for a candidate because of his personal charm rather than his ideas or programs, Greene said. The young voter, he added, is also more likely to cross party lines.
Besides perhaps raising the information level of the electorate, lowering the voting age may inject a new vitality into the American two-party system, Greene said.
Even though younger voters may not actually represent a cohesive block of voters, politicians may act as if they do, Greene said.
Lowering the voting age will not radicalize voters or politicians and it will probably not attract many more young workers, but it will effect politician’s action, Greene said
They will be competing for what they think of as the youth vote, which may lead to changes in the criteria for selection of candidates and changes in the party’s programs, Greene said, adding that it is conceivable that the rhetoric politicians have recently used toward youths may change.
“Even though I do support lowering the voting age, I can’t help but feel that the politicians were grandstanding when they passed the law,” Greene said.
He explained this by saying that usually politicians in both parties vote to lower the voting age because they fear if the age is lowered in the future and they had opposed it, youth might retaliate by helping to elect another candidate.
INSIDE GLASS WALLS OF NEW LAW SCHOOL Workers are about ready for finishing touches. (s«« p»g* 3)
Photo by Linda Biber
Secreta ry to 9 dea ns of men leaves post after 27 years
By MARLA MILLER
After serving nine deans over a period of 27 years, Mrs. Afton Welch is leaving USC.
Beginning in 1943 with the last two years in officc of USC’s first dean of men, Dr. Francis Bacon, up to the present dean, Daniel Nowak, Mrs. Welch has served as secretary for all of the university’s deans of men.
With her retirement scheduled for June 30, Mrs. Welch reflected upon her life at the university.
“The biggest change you can see is Dr. Topping’s building plan,” she said. Looking out her second-story office in the Student Union, the secretary referred to the new Student Activities Center and building renovations.
The dean’s office on the second floor of the Student Union, the same one Mrs. Welch has occupied for 27 years, will also be remodeled. “I’m glad I’m getting out of moving to the fourth floor,” she laughed.
Sneak preview Friday night
A special sneak preview and “Hard Day’s Night” will begin a Friday night series of films, presented by DKA, the national cinema honorary fraternity.
The double^bill tonight will begin with “Hard Day’s Night,” the Beatles’ first movie, at 7:30 in Bovard Auditorium. It will be followed by a sneak preview of a newly-released comedy about the French Revolution. The price for this, and all other DKA-sponsored shows, will be $1.
The secretary claimed that her job has been typical of any secretarial job, with the usual duties of making appointments and keeping up with correspondence.
She added, however, that each of her bosses approached the job differently.
Her present boss, Nowak, praised his red-haired secretary. “It has been a great resource to have someone as dedicated as Mrs. Welch,” he said. “She can provide the information to get at the core of something quickly.” %
Mrs. Welch said she has enjoyed her contact with students.
“I like it when the students are around—they keep me young,” she smiled.
Mrs. Welch has felt the changes in student attitudes over the years, especially in recent month. “When I first came, USC was a war college. Only 5,000 students were enrolled.”
Now, during periods of campus unrest, with an enrollment of 20,000, the situation is different. “Everyone is on call and there is a tenseness throughout the university,” Mrs. Welch said.
Mrs. Welch said she intends to keep busy during her retire-cent.
“Maybe I will take piano lessons again or do volunteer work,” she said. “I’m not going to sit in a rocking chair.”
Although she is retiring, Mrs. Welch is not going to sever all her relations with USC. She enjoys speeches and concerts performed at the university, and added, “I'll be around to see what they’re doing this fall. I’ve got my football season tickets already.”