The following residents of the ACT draw the attention of the Assembly to the need to strengthen our democracy by expanding voting rights in the ACT to 16 and 17 year olds. Young people in the ACT want a say in their future. 16 and 17 year olds are politically engaged and want a say in decisions made by the ACT Government that affect their lives. Voting is a fundamental right.
Every voice deserves to be heard in the ACT electoral system. Voting is about people from different experiences coming together to create an accurate representation of the ACT community. Extending voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds will strengthen democracy, increase voter enrolment and turnout, and lead to higher political participation, helping the ACT Government to make better informed policy decisions.
The majority of 16 and 17 year olds already work and pay taxes, but don’t get a say on how those taxes are spent. This is taxation without representation. 16 year olds can already legally undertake a lot of ‘adult’ actions. 16 and 17 year olds can drive, consent to sex and medical procedures, leave school or home, pay rent, join the armed forces, and work full time.
There is no reason to withhold from them the right to vote. Many other countries including Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Malta, Scotland, Germany and Wales have already lowered the voting age to 16. New Zealand and Canada may soon follow their lead.
It’s Australia’s turn - and the ACT, as the nation’s capital, should be the first jurisdiction to take up the opportunity to extend the right to vote to its young people.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the Assembly to amend the Electoral Act 1992 in order to extend the right to vote to 16 and 17 year old citizens of the ACT in all future Territory elections.