New Zealand Withdraws Bill to Allow 16-Year-Olds to Vote in Local Body Elections, Reports Reuters

By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – The New Zealand government announced on Friday that it would withdraw a bill that aimed to lower the voting age to 16 for local government elections.

In late 2022, New Zealand’s highest court determined that the current voting age of 18 is discriminatory, prompting discussions in parliament about the possibility of lowering it. While the previous Labour government dismissed the idea of reducing the voting age to 16 for national elections, it had sought to enact a lower voting age for local elections. However, this initiative was not passed into law before the government was voted out of office late last year.

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown stated that he requested the bill’s withdrawal due to a lack of support from the recently elected National Party-led government. He emphasized that implementing a new voting age could present unnecessary complications for local councils that are already facing various challenges.

The non-partisan organization "Make it 16," which advocates for lowering the voting age, criticized the decision, calling it a "democratic outrage" to deny 16 and 17-year-olds the opportunity to voice their rights. In a statement, they asserted, "Democracy is when voters choose their politicians, not when politicians choose their voters."