The evidence shows elsewhere that [young people} have been taking up the vote when they have the opportunity to do so, and in Australia we know… that young people are extremely active in mobilising and supporting one another, and using technology as well to raise issues, to campaign and to highlight and to push for change, so they are extremely politically active. –
The issue
Democracies thrive with broader participation. The expansion of voting rights from men with property, to women, to First Nations people, and then to those aged between 18 and 21 in the 1970s has consistently strengthened Australian democracy.
In Australia 16 and 17-year-olds can work full-time, serve in the armed forces, pay income taxes, get married, join political parties, and can be charged with criminal offences. But they cannot vote.
They are the generation that will inherit the consequences of decisions made by governments today, but they cannot engage with those decisions and take part in our democracy to shape the governments that make those decisions. Young people consistently report that they feel marginalised, and the issues they want action on ignored, precisely because they cannot vote.
Our plan
- Amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act (1918) to enfranchise Australians of 16 and 17 years of age on a voluntary basis, with no penalties for non-participation in elections.
- Maintain compulsory voting and penalties for non-participation in elections for all Australians 18 years and older.
- Lower the age of pre-registration on the electoral roll from 16 years to 15 years, with current eligibility criteria.
- Maintain the age eligibility to stand as a candidate in an election at 18, so that candidacy is aligned with the compulsory voting age eligibility.
- Update the national curriculum to equip young people with the knowledge and skills to participate in our democracy and ensure that they understand how to vote in local government, state and federal elections.
The evidence
“Today, countries and territories where children aged 16 and/or 17 are allowed to vote in all elections include Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Guernsey, Greece, Indonesia, Isle of Man, Jersey, Nicaragua, North Korea, and Timor-Leste.” – Unicef: Should Children Vote?
A large number of jurisdictions allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in state and federal elections, so this proposal is not a radical one. Australia has already set a precedent of lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 in the 1970s. One of the first acts of the Whitlam government was to lower the voting age, enfranchising around 700,000 Australians, and enabling them to also stand as candidates in federal elections.
Governments that ignore young people do so at their peril. While 97.9% of eligible Australians are enrolled to vote, this falls to 90% of 18-24 year olds. Yet youth enrolment smashed the AEC’s target of 87% thanks to high enrolment engagement in the lead up to the referendum on the Voice to Parliament in 2023. In 2022 youth enrolment was 86.4% of eligible voters.
In Australia knowing how to vote is not a precondition for the right to vote. While there will be a portion of the 16-17 year old population who have no interest in, or knowledge of, politics, this also applies to Generations X, Y and Z, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation. But we do not restrict the right to vote for politically disengaged and low information adults, and it’s a feeble excuse to justify restricting the right to vote to those aged 18 and above. Making voting for 16 – 17 year olds optional would allow the engaged portion of the population to exercise their right, before compulsory voting applies when they turn 18.
There is evidence that engaging voters at a younger age ensures that they are more politically engaged over their lives. Young voters who vote once are more likely to turn out in future elections as well.
In order to prepare young people for engagement with politics and their rights as citizens, the national curriculum should be updated to include practical education on voting in all levels of government elections, including assisting students with registering on the electoral roll.
Historically young people between the ages of 18 and 24 tend to be more mobile in their lives as they pursue education and career opportunities, which makes enrolling and participating in voting more difficult for this cohort. In addition, depending on the electoral cycle, there can be a several years’ gap between their civics education in high school and their participation in state and federal elections. Allowing young people to apply their education on voting as they are acquiring it would contribute to lifelong voting engagement.
“Typically, electoral data shows that turnout is low when voters are in the early years of adulthood, and increases in their mid to late twenties. But 16- and 17-year-olds, when enfranchised, tend to vote in greater numbers than 18- to 24-year-olds. This was the case in Scotland in 2014-15 (when the voting age was lowered). Now we know that this habit has lasted.” The Conversation
As well as having the same cognitive capacity as older Australians, young people today are the best educated and most highly engaged generation in history. Their vote, like their parents, will range across the political spectrum. One thing they agree on is that they want the right to vote, and are organising to attain it.
“…there appears to be a bit of a fear from some political parties that this will impact the votes that they receive. But you just would not be asking that about any other social group… and if we did it would be highlighted as inappropriate to ask, so why do we do that in relation to young people?” – Dr Faith Gordon
As the current cohort of 16 and 17-year-olds reach the ballot box and begin to exercise their voting rights, they’ll remember the people and political parties who kept them from it.
References
Dr Faith Gordon – Democracy Sausage podcast ‘The World of the Pre-Citizen’ https://reporter.anu.edu.au/all-stories/democracy-sausage-the-world-of-the-pre-citizen
Unicef – Should Children Vote? https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/should-children-vote
Australian Electoral Commission – National Youth Enrolment Rate
https://www.aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/Enrolment_stats/performance/national-youth.htm
Laura Bronner, David Ifkovits – ‘Voting at 16: Intended and Unintended Consequences of Austria’s Electoral Reform’ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261379419300551
Jan Eichhorn, Christine Huebner – ‘Scottish elections: young people more likely to vote if they started at 16 – new study’
https://theconversation.com/scottish-elections-young-people-more-likely-to-vote-if-they-started-at-16-new-study-197823
Make It 16 campaign https://www.makeit16.au/
Shalailah Medhora – ‘Campaign kicks off to lower Australian compulsory voting age to 16’
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-13/lowering-the-voting-age-to-16/102473606