CNN
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The UK is calling landmark efforts by governments to “protect democracy in the future” and could become one of the first European countries to reduce the age of voting to 16 in all national elections.
If passed by Parliament, the proposed reforms announced on Thursday will bring national votes along with elections in Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, where young voters have already voted.
“The younger people deserve to have a stake in the future of our democracy and have a say in the House of Representatives’ local government,” said Rushanara Ali on Thursday.
“When we came to power over a year ago, the government, through its manifesto, committed to strengthening valuable democracy and advancing measures to protect election integrity.”
The UK’s moves that could be led for the next general election continue to follow a global trend towards a young environment.
Darren Hughes, CEO of the Election Reform Association, welcomed the proposed reforms and said lowering the voting age would “help more young people throw that very important, habit-forming vote at the point where they can support civic education.”
“Participation is an important sign of democratic health. If fewer people vote, our democracy will be weaker,” he added.
In 2008, Austria became the first European country to reduce the referendum age to 16, and 10 years later Malta adopted the change. In South America, countries including Brazil, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Argentina have been allowing votes for many years, starting from the age of 16.
However, for most of the world, 18 years old remains the standard lowest voting age. In Asia, countries such as Indonesia and East Timor have set a threshold of 17, while Singapore, Lebanon and Oman have requested that citizens wait until 21 to vote.
In the UK, government intentions are under scrutiny.
James Ussel, head of the campaign since the central right think tank, told CNN that the proposal was “some noble promotion to democracy,” but instead “political engineering aimed at supporting noble (workers).”
In both opinion polls and votes, younger voters tend to be more distorted by labor than major opposition conservatives.
The proposed reforms sparked criticism from the Conservatives on Thursday, with lawmakers and shadow cabinet member Paul Holmes telling the House:
The reform will also expand acceptable voter IDs to include digital formats of existing IDs, such as driver’s licenses and military “veterans” cards. Bank cards issued in the UK are also accepted.
