The Voter Update: “Gov. Pat McCrory signed a sweeping elections overhaul bill on Aug. 12, and on Sept. 1 one of the first provisions of that new law will go into effect. Beginning on that day, 16- and 17-year-olds will no longer be allowed to pre-register to vote….Since its implementation in 2010, the pre-registration program has been successful at engaging young people in the political process. More than 150,000 future voters have taken advantage of pre-registration, with the majority of those registering as independents instead of choosing to align with any political party. If nothing else, these figures could portend interesting changes to our two-party system in the future.”