Expand the right to vote to 16 year olds

Democracy doesn’t start and end at the ballot box, but without a vote you don’t have a voice. Our current election laws leave politically engaged, impassioned young people voiceless and frustrated.

That’s why I introduced a Bill that will empower young people to participate in our democracy by expanding voting rights to give 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote in NSW elections.

In NSW, people aged 16 are allowed to work, have a bank account, pay taxes, learn to drive, leave school and begin full-time employment, and even be criminally charged as an adult. It’s time they were empowered to exercise their voice in our democracy too.

By giving 16 and 17 year olds the choice to vote, we will not only be empowering these individuals but also strengthening our democracy and our community.

Expanding our democracy can only serve to strengthen it. Young people have already shown us they have a strong and diverse voice, it’s up to us to decide if as a society we want to hear it.

Send an email to key MPs demanding they take action to empower young people to have their voice heard in our democracy!

Democracy doesn’t start and end at the ballot box, but without a vote we don’t have a voice. Our current election laws leave politically engaged, impassioned young people voiceless and frustrated.
I am asking that you support the Greens’ Electoral Amendment (Voting Age) Bill 2022, which will permit, but not oblige, 16 and 17 year olds to vote in NSW State and local government elections.
In NSW, people aged 16 are allowed to work, have a bank account, pay taxes, learn to drive, leave school and begin full-time employment, and even be criminally charged as an adult. And yet these people are not allowed to have their political opinions heard and considered. 
Studies have shown that lowering the minimum voting age has significant benefits to both individuals and groups within a society. It results in an increased level of political engagement and political trust that is then carried into adulthood, strengthens the broader democratic process, and makes young people more likely to be politically engaged than those who don’t vote until aged 18 or older (Eichorn & Bergh 2021). 
Australia is lagging behind the rest of the world on this issue. The legal voting age is currently 16 years in many countries, including Nicaragua, Scotland, Cuba, Brazil, Austria, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Ethiopia and Ecuador. Additionally, the legal voting age is 17 years in countries such as Sudan, South Sudan, Indonesia, Greece, East Timor and North Korea.
This is an opportunity for NSW to pave the way for the rest of Australia in creating positive change for youth empowerment and democratic participation. 
In 2018, the Human Rights Law Centre <a href="https://www.hrlc.org.au/news/2018/8/1/voting-age-should-be-lowered-to-16">made a submission</a> to the Australian Parliament’s electoral committee endorsing a call for the federal voting age to be lowered to 16, saying “young people, who are most likely to feel the long-term effects of today’s political decisions, should be allowed to vote from the age of 16… young people are most likely to benefit from or be burdened by the long-term consequences of today’s political decisions. They have extraordinary access to information, and are more engaged than ever before on issues that affect them and the world that they live in.”
I am asking that you act in your capacity to support this important reform.

I would like to BCC myself

EXPAND THE RIGHT TO VOTE TO 16 YEAR OLDS