() The British government has said it would reduce the nationwide minimum voting age from 18 to 16, its first change in more than 50 years. Could the United States follow suit?
A 1969 law in the United Kingdom dropped the voting age from 21 to 18. Similarly, legislation in the U.S. followed suit in 1971, with the 26th Amendment.
On Thursday, the British government said its move to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote increases democratic participation. Additionally, 16-year-olds are able to work, pay taxes and join the military in Britain.
A law would need to be passed to make the plans official, but the Labour Party, which supports the plan, controls one house in Parliament and is likely to move forward. The change would take effect in the next election, which is in 2029.
In the U.S., voters must be 18 to cast a ballot, and the last time the minimum age changed was during the Richard Nixon administration.
Although 16-year-olds can work in the U.S., they cannot join the military like their British counterparts. Discussions of allowing teens under 18 to vote have not progressed far in recent years.
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., introduced a bill in 2023 to lower the age to 16, thereby replacing the 26th Amendment. Constitutional amendments require two-thirds of the House and Senate support to pass, and three-fourths of state legislatures’ support to ratify. Meng introduced a similar bill in 2018, but both failed.
Some states allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries if they will turn 18 before the general election. Eight Maryland cities have extended voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds in local elections, and two cities in California allow the same age group to vote in school board elections. The city of Newark, New Jersey, has also opened school board elections to those 16 and older.
Takoma Park, Maryland, was the first city in the country to lower the age for municipal elections to 16 in 2013. The Montgomery City Council in Rockville, Maryland, cited Takoma Park in an official letter in 2024 as a model for Rockville to follow suit, specifically for county board of education elections.
Other countries that permit 16-year-olds nationwide to vote include Argentina, which lowered the age in 2012, Brazil and Austria. Some countries, like Germany, Wales and Scotland the latter two are part of the U.K. allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in some state and local elections.
