Voting age

A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election. Typically, the age is set at 18 years; however, ages as low as 16 and as high as 21 exist (see list below).

Overview

The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those younger than the chosen threshold lack the capacity to make informed voting decisions. The voting age is often of such importance that it is set by means of a constitutional provision.

In May 2009, Danish Member of Parliament Mogens Jensen presented an initiative to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg to lower the voting age in Europe to 16. There has also been discussion of giving votes to children from birth, initially with the votes being cast by parents, who are presumed to better understand a child's interests (Demeny voting).

When the right to vote was first accorded in democracies the voting age was generally set at 21, or in some cases even older. In the 1970s the voting age was reduced to 18 in many countries. Debate is currently under way in many places on proposals to reduce the voting age below 16.