News / Bristol
Young people in Bristol call for voting rights at 16
Young people will be fighting to make their voices heard, with a motion calling on Bristol City Council to support voting rights for 16-year-olds.
At 15, Hannah Gardner is not allowed to fill in a ballot paper for another three years, but on Tuesday evening, she will stand up and argue the case for why she and 1.5 million teenagers across the UK should be granted suffrage sooner.
“It’s important to me because I think that 16 and 17-year-olds do have maturity and by giving them the vote, you are empowering them and giving them a reason to care about politics,” the chair of Bristol City Youth Council told Bristol24/7.
is needed now More than ever
The motion that goes before the full council on Tuesday calls on Mayor Marvin Rees to publicly support votes at 16 and lobby MPs to influence the Government into changing the legal voting age.
Jude English is leading the motion calling for the mayor to support votes for 16-year-olds
Papers, tabled by Green councillor Jude English, state: “Currently 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds are denied the vote in public elections in the UK.
“Full Council believes that 16 and 17-year-olds are knowledgeable and passionate about the world in which they live and are as capable of engaging in the democratic system as any other citizen.
“Lowering the voting age to 16, combined with strong citizenship education, would empower young people to better engage in society and influence decisions that will define their future.
“People who can consent to medical treatment, work full-time, pay taxes, get married or enter a civil partnership and join the armed forces should also have the right to vote.”
With a possible pilot of e-voting on the cards in Bristol, the motion calls for this to include 16 and 17-year-olds for demonstration purposes.
It also includes a formal request to the Government that Bristol be used as a pilot to trial votes at 16 in council elections.
Members of Bristol City Youth Council addressing members at a recent meeting in City Hall
In Scotland, people are able to vote in local and Scottish Parliamentary elections from the age of 16 and Gardner pointed out that turnout out for these has been as high as 75 per cent among the youngest age bracket.
The St Mary Redcliffe School student added: “If you vote for the first time when you are first able to, then you are much more likely to go on to vote for the rest of your life.
“This motion is all about saying that Bristol supports our young people who are mature enough to vote. Every political party allows people to become voting members at 15 so how can they then argue we are not mature enough to vote?”
Main photo: Members of Bristol City Youth Council on election night. Calling for votes at 16 is part of its manifesto.
Read more: Students launch app to inform young voters in Bristol
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