Photo: Youth Parliament / Neil McKenzie
At 16 years old, you can get your driver’s licence, own a gun, fly a plane, have sex, and get a job – but you can’t vote. Not yet, anyway.
But a group of teenagers who want the voting age to be lowered to include 16 and 17 year-olds is looking to turn that around.
Yesterday the Make it 16 organisation made its arguments in the High Court in Wellington. And while it’s very unlikely a decision will be made in time for this year’s October election, the group’s request follows in the footsteps of several other democratic countries around the world.
In today’s episode of The Detail, Emile Donovan speaks to Gina Dao-McLay from Make it 16, and Victoria University’s Dr Bronwyn Wood, about whether suffrage should be extended, and how to ensure young people know what they’re voting for.
The voting age in New Zealand wasn’t always 18. Back in 1853, the year of our first national elections, you had to be 21 – one of a series of stringent conditions, which also included being a man; being a British subject; and owning land worth at least 50 pounds.
More than a century later, in 1969, the age was lowered to 20, and then in 1974 down to 18 – following in the footsteps of the USA and the UK, which also lowered their voting ages around this time.
In the 46 years since, there have been periodic attempts to extend suffrage to 16 and 17 year-olds – most recently in 2007, when former Green MP Sue Bradford intended to reduce a bill to that effect but withdrew it soon after, citing a negative public reaction.
A 2014 poll of 3,000 adults showed just seven percent supported lowering the voting age.
But Gina Dao-McLay says the decisions politicians make have more impact on young people than anyone else, and those people’s voices should be heard.
“Voting is a fundamental human right, and giving 16 and 17 year-olds the right to vote would mean a stronger and fairer democracy.
“New Zealand and the world face some immense challenges … and young people need to have a say on how we deal with those issues.
Such a move has precedent: countries like Austria and Brazil have each allowed 16 and 17 year-olds to vote for several years.
And in Scotland – where the voting age was lowered to 16 in 2013 for the upcoming referendum on Scottish independence – the move was unexpectedly successful in increasing youth turnout.
Seventy-five percent of 16 and 17 year-olds turned out at the polls: 21 percentage points higher than the 18-to-24 age group, and three points higher than the 24-34 cohort.
Dr Bronwyn Wood Photo: RNZ/John Gerritsen
Dr Bronwyn Wood from Victoria University’s school of education says one of the arguments for going to 16 is that “16 year-olds are more stable in their life changes than 18 year-olds: they tend to be living at home, in the same address, and know the community that they’re living in.
“Some political science research suggests young people these days are strongly motivated by cause and identity politics, and have particular causes or things related to identity they’re passionate about – but these don’t necessarily align to political parties.”
Today’s podcast looks at issues surrounding a possible lower voting age, including the state of New Zealand’s civics education in high schools.
