There's nothing wrong with a proposal that would allow Pennsylvania 17-year-olds to vote in the spring primary election if they will be 18 years old — old enough to vote — before the November general election.

Three Fox Chapel High School classmates and two state lawmakers, one from Allegheny County, deserve support in their effort to extend the voting right.

Julia Hazlet, one of the three Fox Chapel students, makes a good point when she says,"If we can pick between those final two candidates, we should be able to help pick who they are."

Meanwhile, state Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny, agrees, pointing out, "I think we ought to err on the side of getting young people involved."

Dermody is joining forces with state Rep. Richard Grucela, D-Northampton, who introduced such a measure in the General Assembly twice in the past and is planning a third try soon.

If such a bill is passed, it would not put the Keystone State in the role of "leader of the pack" in getting some young people into the voting process a bit earlier — Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia already have extended the privilege.

For the three Fox Chapel students — Doug Weisband, Kevin Pflumm along with Hazlet — allowing some 17-year-olds to vote began as a civics project.

"In the very beginning, it was just a civics-fair entry," Weisband said. "Day by day, it got more real."

The project won first place in the community project category of the Greater Pittsburgh Student Voices fourth annual civics fair and caught the eye of both Dermody and Grucela.

Grucela feels that with the idea catching on in Western Pennsylvania, his effort will have a better chance of success the third time around.

"It helps me a lot," Grucela said of the students' efforts.

But if the three students hope that the proposal will be passed and signed into law in time for 17-year-olds to participate in the April 22 presidential primary, they might be guilty of excessive optimism. The Pennsylvania General Assembly seldom is in a hurry to do anything — unless, of course, it involves a middle-of-the-night legislative pay raise or approval of some other measure that, when analyzed closely, is detrimental to state taxpayers' best interests.

But the students, Dermody and Grucela can't be faulted for trying to build support and bring about a quick vote.

This has shaped up as an interesting election year, and this is a good year for as many young people as possible to become involved — hopefully to trigger their interest and enthusiasm regarding strong election participation throughout the rest of their lives.

Unfortunately, none of the states voting on what is being called "Super Duper Tuesday" on Feb. 5 have this provision in place for some of their 17-year-olds.

For Hazlet, who turns 18 in March, the voting privilege for which she is working won't apply to her. She'll be 18 before the March 24 voter-registration deadline tied to the primary.

But thousands of other Pennsylvania young people should be accorded the opportunity.

This year could mark the first time that a woman or non-white wins a major political party presidential nomination. Being part of the election process, even if not registered as a member of that political party, will be something to be remembered — and a building block for continued voting interest.

Pennsylvania lawmakers should break from their usual slow legislative pace and give a quick OK to the early voting proposal, so some of this state's now-excluded young people will be able to participate, rather than just discuss the presidential race in civics class.