Echo park teen signs up to be poll worker, encourages peers to vote
One teen in Echo Park is getting ready to work at the polls even though she's not able to vote yet.
ECHO PARK (KABC) -- 17-year-old Regina Ortiz is training to become a poll worker for the upcoming election.
"Being able to help voters is something that I've really prioritized in my life," said Ortiz.
Ortiz is a student at John Marshall High School in Los Feliz and is actively educating her peers about the importance of voting.
She is also the president of the Junior State of America chapter at John Marshall.
"This election is important to me because I mean it's a pretty big election. I mean, I'm LGBT and my father's an immigrant. So, this is directly impacting, you know, his rights and my rights to either live in this country or be able to pursue happiness," said Ortiz.
Though the legal voting age is 18, California Proposition 18 would allow 17-year-olds to vote in the primaries as long as they were 18-years-old by the general election.
In the state of California, 16 and 17-year-old's can pre-register to vote. This registration becomes active once they turn 18.
Ortiz's message to young voters is this: "Just please do it because I can't, a lot of my friends can't and we all are wishing we could," said Ortiz.
To pre-register to vote, visit the Secretary of state's website.
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