MPP proposes making voting age 16

The voting age should be lowered two years, to 16, to boost turnout in elections and better engage youth, backbench Liberal MPP Arthur Potts proposes in a new private member’s bill.

Scotland and Argentina are among the places where teenagers are allowed to cast ballots at that age, a time when many are taking on other responsibilities such as driving a car, said Potts (Beaches—East York) on Monday.

“They can drive. They can work,” Potts told a news conference at Queen’s Park. “This proposal is not a stretch from where we are today.”

The push follows a panel discussion on voter engagement of young people attended by 300 people at Ryerson University last week, moderated by Star Queen’s Park columnist and visiting professor Martin Regg Cohn.

To address the phenomenon of low voter turnout, at just 51 per cent in the 2014 provincial election, Green party Lead- er Mike Schreiner advocated a voting age of 16 to “build a lifelong habit” of heading to the polls.

Potts said voting at 16 comes with the advantage that teens can discuss their choices at home with parents or at high school in civics classes, and this provides valuable support and a good sounding board.

“I think they’re quite capable of making a reasoned choice for a political party,” he added. “I can’t imagine a downside.” Opposition parties expressed interest in the idea.