NDP mulls pre-registering youth for future voting
VICTORIA B.C.’s attorney general says he’s seriously considering recommendations from the province’s chief electoral officer to preregister teens to vote in an attempt to improve their participation rate in elections.
David Eby said Tuesday he likes the idea in a new report from chief electoral officer Keith Archer to pre-register 16- and 17-year-olds to vote, making it less of a hassle for them to actually vote when they turn of legal age at 18.
“Getting younger voters registered is something people have been talking about a long time,” said Eby. “We’ve been in government for about 10 months, we’ve got the report from the chief electoral officer now, we’re having a look at it. I think it’s a great recommendation. And certainly it’s forming the basis of discussion within government about ways we can ensure younger voters get out there.”
B.C. elections statistics have shown for decades that youth voters are far less likely to turn out to cast ballots in elections than seniors and middle-aged voters. Green party Leader Andrew Weaver has proposed lowering the voting age to 16, an idea backed by a Kamloops teen who is leading an argument that students at that age are sophisticated enough to participate in the democratic process.
Increasing youth participation in elections is an important issue, said Eby. He said government will internally consider whether to pursue pre-registration or lowering the voting age.
The Elections B.C. report also recommended government consider longer election campaigns in the case of snap elections. Currently, elections run for 29 days and are legislated at every four years.