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] 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] In the United Kingdom, you must be at least 18 years of age to vote in a general election. 17 states allow 17-year-olds to participate in primaries and caucuses if they turn 18 on Election Day: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico,[83] North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, and West Virginia. Iowa, Minnesota and Nevada allow 17-year-olds to vote in all presidential elections, but are not allowed to participate in primaries for other positions. Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Washington and Wyoming allow 17-year-olds to participate only in Democratic factions, but not in the Republican caucus. [84] Around the year 2000, a number of countries began to consider further lowering the voting age, most often arguing for lowering 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] There are only a few exceptions, such as some prisoners who are not legally allowed to vote. The Scottish National Party conference voted unanimously on 27 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] in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The registration deadline for the Scottish elections was Monday 18 April at 23:59. Sometimes it is possible to register at 2 addresses (although you can only vote once in each election). You must also be at least 14 years old (but you cannot vote before the age of 16) If voting in European elections is compulsory in your host country and you have been registered in that country after you registered, you are obliged to vote – just like nationals of that country.
Deleting your data from the open register does not affect your voting rights. If you are a student, you may be able to register to vote at your home and at the semester address. However, this does not necessarily mean that you can vote more than once in elections that take place on the same day. For other elections, you can vote both at the time of your choice and at your home. Others have argued that instead of lowering the voting age to 16, people under 18 generally do not pay or should not pay taxes, and a better solution is that those who do not pay income tax do not have the right to vote either. [12] If you are a citizen of an EU country other than the Republic of Ireland, Malta and Cyprus, you do not have the right to vote in UK general elections, but you do have the right to vote in elections to the European Parliament, Local Council and Mayor, the London Assembly and the Mayor of London. Your name and address will be included in the open registration unless you request that they be removed. 5. Miscellaneous. In Belgium, for example, it can be difficult to find a job in the public sector if you are not difficult. In Mexico or Italy, there are no formal sanctions, but possible arbitrary or social sanctions. This is called a “harmless sanction” in Italy, where it may be difficult to obtain daycare or similar service, for example, but it is not formalized.
For example, if you are a student with different residential and semester addresses, you may be able to register for both. If you are a student, you may be able to register to vote at your home and at the semester address. The registration deadline for the May 5, 2022 election closed on Thursday, April 14 at 11:59 p.m. This means that the register of local authorities will include 16- and 17-year-olds as full voters, 16- and 17-year-olds will have the right to vote in Senedd1 elections as well as in municipal elections on or after 5 October. May 2022.2 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. 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. Jersey followed suit on 4 July 2007 and agreed to a fundamental 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] In Wales, 16- and 17-year-olds can vote in elections to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and local government. Students who do not live at home can register for election both during their semester and at home. A student who has a permanent residential address and a semester address can legally be registered at both addresses. If an elector is registered in two different electoral districts, he or she is entitled to vote in municipal elections for the two different municipal councils. However, voting twice is a criminal offence. The Representation of the People Act 1969 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 from 1970 and remained in force until the Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013, which allowed 16-year-olds to vote for the first time, but only in Scotland and only in that particular referendum.
The Scottish Parliament lowered the voting age to 16 for its own local elections and those of the Scots in 2015. [44] To check if you are already registered, please contact: Not requested for persons over 70 years of age, who prove that they were not in Germany at the time of voting until a date of voting, and those who were unable to vote due to force majeure. There are other enrollment options, including signing up as a service selection, signing up anonymously, and signing up if you don`t have a fixed address. If you live outside the EU, you can usually vote in the European elections at the embassy or consulate of your home country. If you need to register, check in advance for the registration deadlines in your host country, as they vary from country to country. The main argument against compulsory voting is that it is incompatible with the freedom associated with democracy. Voting is not an intrinsic obligation, and prosecution would be an infringement on citizens` freedom associated with democratic elections. This can discourage political education of the electorate because those who are forced to participate are reacting against the perceived source of oppression.
Is a government really more legitimate if the high turnout contradicts the will of the voters? Many countries with limited financial resources may not be able to justify spending on maintaining and enforcing mandatory electoral laws. On Monday 5 March 2018, the Maltese Parliament voted unanimously in favour of a constitutional amendment lowering the official voting age from 18 to 16, making Malta the second EU state to lower the voting age to 16. [41] For more information on the procedure and criteria, please contact your voter registration officer. If you wish to vote in the European elections in the EU country where you live, you must apply to be registered to vote in that country. If you live in your home country but want to vote in another EU country, you will need to check with your national electoral commission which rules apply.