The British government said on Thursday that it plans to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in the general elections. This decision is a landmark change, giving the UK one of the lowest voting ages worldwide.
According to Barrons, it follows a pledge from the ruling Labour Party to make the shift ahead of the winning power last year and is among the several planned changes to the democratic system. The report also mentions that the voting age change is likely to prove contentious, with critics previously arguing it is self-serving, as newly enfranchised teenagers are seen as more likely to support the centre-left Labour party.
“I think it’s really important that 16- and 17-year-olds have the vote, because they are old enough to go out to work, they are old enough to pay taxes, so (they) pay in,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, as quoted by Barrons.
“And I think if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on, which way the government should go,” Starmer added.
Now, the government will have to bring the legislation before the parliament. However, it has a comfortable majority to bring the changes. According to online databases, only a small number of countries allow 16-year-olds to vote in the national elections. It includes Austria as well as Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Cuba.
According to the report, the labour ministers in the United Kingdom insisted that the change is intended to “modernise our democracy” and boost turnout.
The report further mentions that other planned changes include introducing automated voter registration—which is already used in Australia and Canada—and making UK-issued bank cards an accepted form of ID at polling stations. It also follows changes to the electoral law introduced by the previous Conservative government, which required voters to show a photo ID, which the Electoral Commission found led to around 750,000 people not voting in last year’s election.
