The 26th Amendment (passed and ratified in 1971)[80] prevents states from setting an voting age above 18. [81] In addition to the express restrictions provided for in Amendments XIV, XV, XIX, and XXVI, elective qualifications for elections to the House of Representatives and the Senate are largely delegated to the states under Article I, Section 2 and Amendment XVII of the United States Constitution, each of which states: “The House of Representatives shall consist of the members of: elected every two years by the people of each state. and the electors of each state must have the necessary qualifications for the electors of the largest branch of the state legislature. ” and “The United States Senate shall consist of two senators from each state, elected by the people of that state, for a six-year term; and each senator has one vote. The electors of each state must have the necessary qualifications to respond to the electors of the largest branch of the state legislatures. [82] Jersey followed suit on July 4, 2007 and approved in principle a lowering of the voting age to 16. The States of Jersey narrowly voted 25 to 21,[68] and the amendments were adopted on 26 September. [69] The law was sanctioned by a Council Regulation on 12 December[70][71] and entered into force on 1 April, in time for the parliamentary elections at the end of 2008. [72] [73] Measures to lower the voting age to 16 were successful in each of the three British Crown colonies from 2006 to 2008. The Isle of Man was the first to amend its law when it lowered the voting age for its general election to 16 in July 2006, with the House of Keys approving the decision by a vote of 19 to 4. [67] The Votes at 16 coalition, a group of political and charitable organizations working to lower the voting age to 16, was launched on January 29, 2003. [48] At that time, a private member`s bill was also proposed by Lord Lucas in the House of Lords, which was debated at second reading on January 9.

[49] “We should all be concerned that voter turnout in Canada continues to be the lowest among recent voters, and this bill aims to improve that by adopting voting habits while young people are still in school,” Bachrach told the House of Commons after the bill was introduced. New Zealand Green Party MP Sue Bradford announced on 21 June 2007 that she intended to introduce her Civic Education and Voting Age Bill at the next opportunity, when a vacancy would arise for the consideration of MPs` bills. [42] When this happened on July 25, Bradford abandoned the idea, citing a negative public reaction. [43] The bill would have sought to lower the voting age in New Zealand to 16 and to integrate civics into the compulsory curriculum in schools. The House of Commons debated Wednesday lowering Canada`s voting age from 18 to 16. This is the 11th attempt to lower the voting age in Canada since it was raised from 21 to 18 in 1970. The only known maximum voting age is that of the Holy See, where the right to vote for the election of a new pope is limited to cardinals under the age of 80. Read more: Young Canadians sue the federal government for lowering the voting age The debate on my bill revealed contradictions and tensions within the other parties. The Conservatives let 14-year-olds vote in their leadership race – elections that decide the party`s candidate for prime minister – but can`t imagine 17-year-olds voting for their local MP. On the Liberal side, Mark Holland, the Liberal House leader, proposed changing the voting age to 16 in 2005 when he was in opposition, but voted last week to reject the same proposal. Three initiatives to lower the voting age in Canadian federal elections are sparking discussions about young people`s right to vote. The voting age is a minimum legal age that a person must reach before being eligible to vote in a public election.

Today, the most common voting age is 18; However, the voting age is currently 16 to 25 (see list below). Most countries have set a minimum voting age, which is often set out in their constitutions. Voting is compulsory in a number of countries, while it is optional in most countries. A similar bill (Bill S-201) to raise the minimum voting age in Canada from 18 to 16 is currently at second reading in the Senate. Senator Marilou McPhedran introduced a similar bill in 2021, which passed second reading. But the fall 2021 elections put an end to this process. In the United States, the debate over lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 began during World War II and intensified during the Vietnam War, when most conscripts were too young to vote, successfully lobbying the image of young men forced to risk their lives in the military without the privilege of voting. lowering the voting age nationally and in many states. By 1968, several states had lowered the voting age below 21: Alaska and Hawaii had the minimum age of 20,[78] while Georgia,[78] and Kentucky were 18.

[79] In 1970, in Oregon v. Mitchell, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had the right to regulate the minimum voting age in federal elections; However, it decided that it could not regulate it at the local and state level. When the right to vote was introduced in democracies, the voting age was generally set at 21 years or older. In the 1970s, many countries lowered the voting age to 18. Proposals to lower the voting age to 18 years or younger are currently under consideration in a number of countries. This is another list, similar to the one above, but the dates on which countries or territories lowered the voting age to 16; Unless otherwise stated, the reduction was 18. Prior to the introduction of the law in December 2021, several young Canadians sued the federal government to lower the minimum voting age. It may seem contradictory, but lowering the voting age has the potential to remedy this troubling trend. By the age of 16 or 17, most young people are in high school, living at home, in the community — and in the federal riding — where they grew up. All of these factors increase the likelihood that they will make that crucial first trip to the election, which increases the likelihood of becoming a lifelong voter.

Around 2000, a number of countries began to consider further lowering the voting age, the most common arguments being to lower it to 16. The first steps were taken in the 1990s, when the voting age for local elections was lowered to 16 in some federal states. Lower Saxony was the first Land to make such a reduction in 1995, and four other Länder did the same. [9] The Scottish National Party conference voted unanimously on 27th October 2007 in favour of a policy to lower the voting age to 16 (the age of majority in Scotland) and a campaign to transfer the necessary powers to the Scottish Parliament. [59] Digging beyond party interests, lowering the voting age has the potential to strengthen the fabric of our democracy. Every member I spoke to agrees that high turnout is the hallmark of a healthy democracy. On April 3, 2019, Andrew Yang became the first major presidential candidate to advocate for the United States to lower the voting age to 16. [91] By age 16, Americans have no limits on their work and they pay taxes. According to Yang, their livelihoods are directly affected by the legislation, and so they should be allowed to vote for their representatives. [92] NDP MP Taylor Bachrach first introduced Bill C-210 on December 13, 2021, a bill to amend the Canada Elections Act (voting age). Wednesday`s debate will be second reading of the bill.