Those who vote at 16 ‘retain the habit’ for the long term

REDUCING the voting age to 16 in local and Scottish Parliament elections has led to youngsters being more likely to retain a habit of voting in elections than older first-time voters, a study suggests.

Those able to vote at age 16 to 17 in Scotland were more likely to continue voting well into their twenties than those who started when they were over 18, researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh and Sheffield said.

The research was funded by a grant from the Scottish Government.

The voting age was reduced to 16 in Scottish local and parliamentary elections as well as the 2014 independence referendum. Experts now say the voting aged should be reduced to 16 across the rest of the UK.

But while first-time voters maintained a habit of voting, the researchers said that there was no longer-term effects of participating in politics more widely such as signing petitions or attending demonstrations.

Inequalities in voter turnout among those from lower socio-economic backgrounds were reduced when voting aged 16 or 17, but these trends were not maintained as voters got older and standard patterns re-emerged as they moved into their twenties.

Researchers surveyed 904 young people between the age of 16 and 31 about their voting habits after the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections.

Dr Jan Eichhorn, of the University of Edinburgh’s school of social and political science, and lead author of the study, said: “Many younger first-time voters retain a habit of voting... [the] findings strengthen the case for enfranchising younger voters across the UK to improve long-term voting behaviour.”