The Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 passed into law this week, marking the biggest change to the franchise in Wales since the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969. A separate piece of legislation is currently progressing through the Senedd on extending the right to vote for 16- and 17-year olds for the next Welsh local government elections, due to take place in 2022.
Currently, 16
and 17-year-olds can vote in Scotland for the Scottish Parliament elections,
and in Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
Jess Blair,
director of ERS Cymru, which campaigned for the reform, said: ‘16 and 17 year
olds will now rightly have a say over critical issues that affect their future,
such as health, education and the economy. As we’ve already seen in Scotland, this
is a boost for our democracy as a whole―strengthening citizenship and boosting
political engagement. England looks increasingly isolated on this.’
