{"id":70932,"date":"2025-07-18T09:30:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T09:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=70932"},"modified":"2025-07-18T09:32:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T09:32:47","slug":"what-is-the-plan-to-allow-16-and-17-year-olds-to-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/07\/18\/what-is-the-plan-to-allow-16-and-17-year-olds-to-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Plan to Allow 16 and 17-Year-Olds to Vote?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Merciful Omoba<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A landmark policy change will allow approximately 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the next UK general election, which must take place by August 2029, though it could be called earlier.<\/p>\n

The government says the move will empower young people to have a say in how the country is governed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 16, a young person can work, pay taxes, and join the Army. There\u2019s no reason they shouldn\u2019t also have a say in who governs our country,\u201d said Democracy Minister Rushanara Ali.<\/p>\n

The commitment to lower the voting age was a key promise in Labour\u2019s 2024 election manifesto and marks the most significant change to the UK electorate since the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969.<\/p>\n

Under the new law, 16-year-olds will be able to vote in all UK elections. As in Scotland, young people will also be allowed to register to vote from the age of 14.<\/p>\n

Currently, the minimum voting age is 16 for local council elections in Scotland and Wales, and for elections to their respective devolved parliaments.<\/p>\n

However, voters must still be 18 to vote in UK parliamentary elections, local elections in England, and all elections in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

The minimum age to stand as a political candidate remains 18.<\/p>\n

What ID Will Voters Be Able to Use?<\/p>\n

Going forward, voters will be allowed to use a UK-issued bank card that bears their name as valid identification, according to the government.<\/p>\n

Since May 2023, voters in England, Scotland, and Wales have been required to present photo ID when voting in person.<\/p>\n

Acceptable forms of ID include passports, driver\u2019s licences, bus passes, and Armed Forces Veteran Cards.<\/p>\n

Those without an approved ID can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate.<\/p>\n

However, voter ID laws have faced criticism. According to the Electoral Commission, around 4% of people who did not vote in the 2024 general election cited voter ID rules as the reason.<\/p>\n

Voter ID requirements have been in place in Northern Ireland since 2003.<\/p>\n

How Could Voter Registration Be Automated?<\/p>\n

The Electoral Commission estimates that about seven million people are either incorrectly registered or missing entirely from the electoral register. Young people and private renters are disproportionately affected.<\/p>\n

To address this, the government plans to introduce automated voter registration. Under the proposal, agencies such as the Passport Office may share information with Electoral Registration Officers to help update the rolls.<\/p>\n

Voters will still need to opt in to appear on the open electoral register, which is publicly accessible. No one under 16 will appear on this version.<\/p>\n

At present, eligible adults must manually register to vote either online or using a paper form.<\/p>\n

What Are the Proposed Changes to Postal Voting?<\/p>\n

The government is planning to extend the deadline to apply for a postal vote, moving it from 11 to 14 working days before election day. The change is aimed at giving voters more time to receive and return their ballots.<\/p>\n

What Are the Plans for Political Donations?<\/p>\n

The government is also looking to tighten rules around party donations to help prevent foreign interference in UK elections.<\/p>\n

Under the proposals:<\/p>\n

Companies must have sufficient income in the UK or Ireland to make donations.<\/p>\n

Political parties will be required to verify the legitimacy of donors before accepting funds.<\/p>\n

The Electoral Commission will have the power to issue fines of up to \u00a3500,000 for violations.<\/p>\n

How Have Political Groups Responded?<\/p>\n

The National Union of Students praised the voting age reduction as a “landmark moment for democracy.”<\/p>\n

The Liberal Democrats supported the decision but urged the government to go further in tackling foreign interference.<\/p>\n

The Conservative Party criticised the proposal as “hopelessly confused,” pointing out that 16-year-olds cannot marry, join the military in combat roles, or stand as candidates.<\/p>\n

They also questioned the timing of the announcement, noting that the summer recess will delay parliamentary scrutiny until September.<\/p>\n

Reform UK argued that 16 and 17-year-olds should not vote in elections where they are ineligible to stand as candidates.<\/p>\n

When Is the Next General Election?<\/p>\n

The current Parliament began on 9 July 2024, meaning it must be dissolved no later than July 2029.<\/p>\n

After dissolution, 25 working days are allowed to prepare for the election, setting the latest possible date for the next general election as August 2029.<\/p>\n

However, the Prime Minister can call an election earlier at their discretion, with the formal approval of the King.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Merciful Omoba   A landmark policy change will allow approximately 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the next UK general election, which must take place by August 2029, though it could be called earlier. The government says the move will empower young people to have a say in how the country is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":70933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,186],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70934,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70932\/revisions\/70934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}