In its response to the Youth Citizenship Conmmission consultation on the voting age, Changemakers has argued that lowering the voting age to 16, first for local elections, would make little difference to voter turnout or the civic engagement of young people.

Voter turnout at local elections has historically been low, rarely rising above 33%, and is even lower amongst younger voters. “Simply allowing 16 year olds to vote will not change this” says Adam Nichols, Chief Executive of Changemakers.

Changemakers suggests that the first step in getting young people involved in and engaged with their local communities is to focus on giving young people a stake in these communities. By allowing young people the opportunity to lead community change and participate in policy and decision making, they are able to see how the decisions they make at a local level can have some influence. This is likely to have a more powerful effect on their civic engagement than simply giving them the right to vote in local elections.

Adam Nichols says that “whilst it may be appropriate to lower the voting age in the long run, I do not believe that this should be the focus of policy.”

To read the full response click here.

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