Why Is 18 the Legal Age to Vote in Canada

The 26th Amendment (passed and ratified in 1971)[80] prevents states from setting an voting age above 18. [81] In addition to the express restrictions provided for in Amendments XIV, XV, XIX, and XXVI, elective qualifications for elections to the House of Representatives and the Senate are largely delegated to the states under Article I, Section 2 and Amendment XVII of the United States Constitution, each of which states: “The House of Representatives shall consist of the members of: elected every two years by the people of each state. and the electors of each state must have the necessary qualifications for the electors of the largest branch of the state legislature. ” and “The United States Senate shall consist of two senators from each state, elected by the people of that state, for a six-year term; and each senator has one vote. The electors of each state must have the necessary qualifications to respond to the electors of the largest branch of the state legislatures. [82] In 2004, the UK Electoral Commission conducted a broad consultation on voting and candidacy age and received an important response. In his conclusions, he recommended leaving the voting age at 18. [50] On November 29, 2005, the House of Commons voted 136-128 against a bill by Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Williams to lower the voting age to 16. When Parliament was passed in 2006, it decided not to include a provision on lowering the voting age in the Election Administration Act.

Such a decision would not be unprecedented in Canadian history. In 1970, the Canada Elections Act was revised and the right to vote was abolished from ages 21 to 18. The proposal has been criticised for saying that young people are too much influenced by parents, teachers and peers to make an independent and informed decision. [10] On the other hand, one of the main arguments in favour of lowering the voting age to 16 is that at this age, in most countries, a person has reached the legal working age for most jobs and is taxable and therefore does not have to pay taxes without the right to political representation. [11] “We should all be concerned that voter turnout in Canada remains the lowest among young voters, and this bill aims to improve that by adopting voting habits while young people are still in school,” Bachrach told the House of Commons after the bill was introduced. Feasby argued that in the event of a future legal challenge to the voting age, the federal government would bear “the burden of justifying” the status quo. Brazil lowered the voting age in the 1988 constitution from 18 to 16. The 1989 presidential election was the first with the voting age lower.

Persons between the ages of 18 and 70 have the right to vote. When the right to vote was introduced in democracies, the voting age was generally set at 21 years or older. In the 1970s, many countries lowered the voting age to 18. Proposals to lower the voting age to 18 years or younger are currently under consideration in a number of countries. But a senior official says giving Canadians the right to vote at age 16 is an idea “worth considering” because it could combat voter apathy by introducing political discussions into schools. The National Assembly for Wales voted on 27th May and 27th May. The Senedd and Election (Wales) Act was passed in November 2019. [64] A vote in favour of abolishing this right was rejected by 41 votes to 11.

Lowering the voting age to 16 in the United Kingdom was first seriously considered on December 15, 1999, when the House of Commons in committee considered an amendment proposed by Simon Hughes to the Representation of the People Bill. [46] This was the first time that lowering the voting age to less than 18 had been voted in the House of Commons. [47] The government rejected the amendment by a vote of 434 to 36. [47] George M. Montross of Detroit sent this letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Emanuel Celller, expressing outrage at the decision to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. He questioned the legality of the action, saying the Constitution had been violated “deliberately and flagrantly” by those who had sworn to protect it.