April 2004 Age of electoral majority Report and recommendations We are an independent body that was set up by the UK Parliament. We aim to gain public confidence and encourage people to take part in the democratic process within the UK by modernising Age of the electoral process, promoting public awareness of electoral matters, and The Electoral Commission Trevelyan House regulating political parties. Great Peter Street London SW1P 2HW electoral majority Te l 020 7271 0500 4114/RP/04.04 Fax 020 7271 0505 © The Electoral Commission 2004 [email protected] ISBN: 1-904363-39-3 www.electoralcommission.org.uk Report and recommendations The Electoral Commission Trevelyan House Great Peter Street London SW1P 2HW Tel 020 7271 0500 Fax 020 7271 0505 [email protected] Mainwww.electoralcommission.org.uk headings The Electoral Commission We are an independent body that was set up by the UK Parliament. We aim to gain public confidence and encourage people to take part in the democratic process within the UK by modernising the electoral process, promoting public awareness of electoral matters, and regulating political parties. On 1 April 2002, The Boundary Committee for England (formerly the Local Government Commission for England) became a statutory committee of The Electoral Commission. Its duties include reviewing local electoral boundaries. Age of electoral majority Report and recommendations © The Electoral Commission 2004 ISBN: 1-904363-39-3 1 Contents Executive summary 3 4 Citizenship education 29 International comparators 3 Background 29 Minimum age limits and maturity 3 How important is citizenship education? 31 Citizenship education 4 Is citizenship education working? 32 What do the public think? 4 Citizenship post-16 36 Election turnout and wider participation 4 All or nothing? 5 5Public opinion 39 Conclusions and recommendations 5 The voting age – general public 39 1 Introduction 7 6 Election turnout and wider participation 45 The Electoral Commission 7 How important is turnout in this context? 45 Genesis of the project 7 Participation beyond elections 49 Scope 8 Priorities and principles 9 7 All or nothing? 53 Review process 9 Managing change 53 Consultation process 10 Variable ages? 54 Recommendations 11 Pilot schemes 55 2 International comparators 13 8 Conclusions and recommendations 59 The present context 13 Rationale 59 The Lower Saxony experience 15 Voting age 61 The importance of Candidacy age 62 international comparators 16 Appendices 3 Minimum age limits and maturity 19 Other minimum ages 19 Appendix A: Consultation activities What do we mean by maturity? 23 and media coverage 65 The importance of social awareness July 2003 65 and responsibility 24 August 66 The minimum candidacy age – September 66 ensuring greater maturity? 26 October 66 Post-October 67 Media coverage 67 2 Appendix B: Respondents to the consultation paper and consultation meetings 69 Academics 69 Councils 69 Political parties and groups 70 Politicians 71 Organisations 72 Young people, including youth groups, schools, and organisations representing young people 73 Others 76 Appendix C: Statistical breakdown of responses to consultation paper and surveys 79 Consultation paper questions 79 Responses to ICM survey, November 2003 81 Extracts from Nestlé Family Monitor/MORI survey 83 Appendix D: List of legal minimum ages 85 Appendix E: Recruitment and deployment of under 18s in the armed services of the UK 88 Policy considerations 89 Attachments 91 Description of safeguards maintained in respect of recruitment of under-18s into the armed forces of the United Kingdom 91 Draft Declaration to be made at ratification on the minimum age for recruitment into the armed forces of the United Kingdom 92 3 Executive summary We set out here our views and There have been growing calls to reduce the recommendations on the minimum voting and/or candidacy age as a way of encouraging participation in representative minimum age of voting and democracy by young people. The Electoral candidacy for public elections Commission has undertaken this review over the in the United Kingdom. last 12 months, partly in recognition of that trend, and partly in response to a specific request from young people that we ‘seriously consider the arguments for lowering the voting age’.1 International comparators Almost all countries have a minimum voting age of 18. The picture is less clear with candidacy, but most countries similar to the UK have the same minimum age for both voting and candidacy. The situation in other countries sets the context for the debate, but should not be the conclusive argument. Minimum age limits and maturity Much has been made of other rights that apply at 16, for example marriage, joining the armed forces, and liability to taxation, but the detail of some of these rights is often more complex than may appear (for example, the need to gain parental consent in order to exercise the right before age 18). Furthermore, the age at which rights and responsibilities accrue varies greatly and no other single right is directly comparable with the right to vote or stand at elections. In the absence of a wider debate about the general age of majority (which goes beyond the Commission’s expertise and remit), each right should therefore be considered ultimately in its own context. 1 Young people and politics, Children and Young People’s Unit, July 2002, page 41. (www.cypu.gov.uk/corporate/downloads/CYPU_AdultAW.pdf). Age of electoral majority: executive summary 4 Maturity is fundamental to the question of legal current state of citizenship teaching in minimum ages and the most important aspect schools. However, the Commission strongly of maturity in the context of electoral rights supports the principle of citizenship teaching, seems to be the development of social both during and beyond compulsory schooling. awareness and responsibility. All that we have Furthermore, were the subject to develop seen suggests that many young people under more fully, this may change the context for 18 would probably be ready to use the right to the debate on electoral rights. vote, but many others do not appear ready. Defining what is ‘sufficiently mature’ in relation What do the public think? to voting cannot be a precise test and must Most responses to our consultation supported therefore rest to a large extent on the views a voting age of 16, but more general opinion of society as a whole. In this regard a wider polling suggests strong support for keeping national debate about the general age of the current minimum. Even young people majority would be helpful, as it has been over themselves seem divided on whether they are 35 years since the last formal review. ready to be given voting rights at 16. Public opinion also seems opposed to lowering the Citizenship education candidacy age, but views on this appear less In the last few years there has been increasing strongly held. focus on citizenship teaching in formal education, although the way it is taught varies Electoral turnout and wider across the UK. It is not just factual political participation literacy that is important – other aspects The available evidence certainly suggests of citizenship education help young people that lowering the voting age would decrease understand ‘politics’ in the context of wider overall turnout in the short-term, and the society and their own communities. longer-term effects are disputed. In any event, There is some logic in the argument that we believe that the minimum age for electoral maintaining a gap between the end of participation should ultimately be determined compulsory citizenship education (at 16) on principles wider than the potential impact and the right to exercise electoral rights on election turnout. may be counter-productive. But the strength Lowering the voting and/or candidacy age of this argument depends on the quality of may help persuade younger people that the citizenship education. politicians were treating their views more Independent assessment suggests citizenship seriously. However, the fundamental issue for education is still very much in its infancy. young people seems to be that their views are Accordingly, it is not sensible to found any regarded as important and are considered recommendation about electoral rights on the properly by public policy-makers, not that the Age of electoral majority: executive summary 5 particular age at which they can vote or stand inform consideration of individual age-based should be lowered. rights. We propose further research on the social and political awareness of those around All or nothing? age 18 with a view to undertaking a further A number of alternatives to wholesale change review of the minimum age for electoral were suggested to us, including: participation in the future. •different ages for different elections (e.g. The Electoral Commission would therefore voting at 16 for local elections and 18 for expect to undertake a further formal review of national elections); the minimum voting age within five to seven •pilot schemes for the minimum ages; and years of this report. We would encourage the Government to consider in the meantime • allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to register to initiating a wider review of the age of majority, vote voluntarily. given the length of time that has passed since the last one. At the current time, the Commission does not believe that any of these options would be Different considerations apply in relation to appropriate, although in any future review we candidacy. It is election to office (not candidacy) would like to explore in more detail the idea of that gives an individual political power and different minimum ages for different elections. responsibility. The candidate selection process of political parties and the public Conclusions and recommendations election process itself already provide the There appears to be insufficient current public with the means to prevent individuals justification for a change to the voting age at they consider insufficiently mature from being the present time.