Public Elections - reduction in voting age to 16 - States Assembly

REPORT
“There is something a little embarrassing about the sight of politicians chasing the teen market, but there is
no reason to think 16 year olds would vote with any less seriousness than their parents, even if they do lack
a full understanding of the realities of adult life.”
(Taken from a newspaper quote from the website VOTES AT 16 CAMPAIGN a cross party organization
in the U.K. on Political voting rights for all elections.)
Their website can be found at this internet address –
http://www.votesat16.org.uk/
In the U.K., the long-awaited report of the POWER Commission the report into the solutions, to the dwindling
turn-outs in Britain has just been published – and it backs lowering the voting age to 16.
The POWER Commission was independent of all parties and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a
charity which takes a close interest in democracy. The Commission was chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy.
In recommending a lower voting age, the Commission says that the move will help to connect young people with
democracy. The Commission stresses that there is not a lack of interest in politics, simply a lack of faith that
ordinary people have the power to change things.
Their press release read –
“After eighteen months of investigation, the final report of Power is a devastating critique of the state of
formal democracy in Britain. Many of us actively support campaigns such as Greenpeace or the
Countryside Alliance. And millions more take part in charity or community work. But political parties
and elections have been a growing turn-off for years. The cause is not apathy. The problem is that we
don’t feel we have real influence over the decisions made in our name. The need for a solution is urgent.
And that solution is radical. Nothing less than a major programme of reform to give power back to the
people of Britain ...”
The power report can be downloaded here –
http://www.powerinquiry.org/report/documents/PowertothePeople_002.pdf
More information is included in the Appendix to this report
My proposal makes a very simple change by reducing the age from 18 to 16. It would be very simple for PPC to
promote the amendment to the Law – it is just a case of changing one figure. The decision to do so however may
be another matter altogether.
What is the situation in Jersey at Present
The present position, under the Public Elections (Jersey) Law 2002 is that a person has to be 18 to register to vote,
in addition to meeting the residency requirements. Once a person is registered they can vote in all public elections
(e.g. Senators, Deputies, Connétables, Centeniers and Procureurs du Bien Public).
Here is the relevant Article from the Public Elections (Jersey) Law 2002 –
“5 Entitlement to be registered
(1) A person is entitled on a particular day to have his or her name included on the electoral register for