Younger voters urged to register for Scottish Parliament elections next year

The Courier reports that the Electoral Commission and the Electoral Registration Officers have teamed up to launch a new campaign encouraging 15 to 17 year-olds to register to vote for the Scottish Parliament elections in May 2016.

The voting age in Scotland was lowered from 18 to 16 for last year’s Scottish referendum and nearly 110,000 16 and 17 year-old Scots registered to vote. Three quarters of these are reported to have taken part in the poll, The Courier reports.

Of those 16 and 17 year olds who voted in the referendum, almost all (97%) said that they would participate in elections and referendums in the future.

The new campaign by the election watchdogs reminds 15 to 17 year olds, who will be eligible to vote in 2016’s Holyrood ballot, to ensure they are registered beforehand so they do not miss out.

Advertisements will be placed on social media platforms and radio stations in a bid to increase awareness of the lower voting age of 16.

The head of the Electoral Commission in Scotland, Andy O’Neill, said: “At the Scottish independence referendum in 2014, we saw that young people are politically engaged and that they want to vote.

“But to be able to take part in next year’s important election, you must be registered. It’s easy to apply to register online now at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote in just a few minutes.”

“The lowering of the voting age also means that 15 year olds can appear on the register so that they are ready to vote when they turn 16. If you’re going to be 16 by the time of the election next May, then register now and get on the register in plenty of time,” he added.

The campaign mirrors similar efforts in the UK earlier in the year ahead of the May general election.

On July 15, England and Wales came one step closer to increasing the size of the electorate after Labour and Liberal Democrat peers voted in favour of amending the Local Government Devolution Bill by adding an amendment to lower the voting age for council elections and referenda to 16.

The Huffington Post UK revealed that the Lords voted by 221 to 154 votes in support of lowering the voting age to 16. However, the amendment still needs to gain support in the Conservative-led House of Commons before it becomes law.

PM David Cameron has refused to entertain votes for 16 and 17 year olds in England and Wales, despite its success in the Scottish referendum in 2014, and will not even allow the age to be lowered for the vote on the UK’s continued membership in the European Union which is due to take place by the end of 2017.

At a Prime Minister’s Questions session in mid-June this year, Labour’s interim leader, Harriet Harman, asked the PM why the Conservative Government would not support extending the right to vote on the UK’s future in Europe to 16 and 17 year-olds Britons.

He responded: “I believe this House should vote on that issue. The Conservative manifesto is clear, and my position is clear. I think we should stick with the current franchise at 18 […] But the House of Commons can vote.”

After the Lords’ vote Labour’s leader in the House of Lords, Baroness Smith, said: “The government should of course, accept the amendment. But David Cameron should also reflect on his opposition to young people voting in the EU referendum. At present, he is doing little more than sending a signal to 16 and 17 year olds that they have nothing to contribute to a debate of real historical significance that will have a profound effect on their futures.”

Former Labour leader, Ed Miliband, voiced his commitment to enfranchising 16 and 17 year olds and strengthening the influence of younger voters during the 2015 General Election campaign.

YouGov created a poll revealing the political views of just over 700 16-18 year olds in February this year and found that most agreed with the statement: “The political system in the UK is outdated and old-fashioned”.

The poll results showed that young people were very much in favour of reform of the political system, with 74% wanting the system to “better reflect society.”

More than two in three supported the concept of online voting, or voting via a phone app and 80% wanted to see online submission of questions from the public to the Prime Minister introduced.

If the voting age is lowered, the possibility of electronic voting is likely to be explored again as interest over youth engagement in electoral politics resurface.

Peter Kellner, the president of YouGov, stated that if the voting age were lowered and online voting permitted, the influence and dominance of the over – 60s on government policies “would be greatly weakened.”