Sixteen-year-olds in New Zealand might soon be able to vote as the country’s highest court has ruled that the current voting age of 18 is discriminatory. The ruling gives scope for the parliament to discuss and consider lowering the lower limit of voting age.
The case was first brought up in the courts by an advocacy group called ‘Make It 16’ in 2020 which wanted the current voting system to incorporate 16 and 17-year-olds to enable them to vote on issues like climate change which will eventually affect the youth.
According to a report by Reuters, the Supreme Court said that the current voting age of 18 contradicts the country’s own Bill of Rights which gives people the right to be free once they turn 16.
Caedan Tipler, the co-director of Make It 16 said, “This is history. The government and parliament cannot ignore such a clear legal and moral message. They must let us vote.”
new zealand supreme court: 18 y/o voting age ruled discriminatory after lawsuit
‘make it 16’ group aims to lower voting age to 16 so young people can vote on issues that will affect them most…like climate change pic.twitter.com/8jjt9STA6s
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) November 21, 2022
Countries like Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Scotland and others already allow voters below 18 to exercise their right to franchise.
Let’s take a closer look at the new series of development.
The Make It 16 campaign
The petition, which was presented on 5 October 2022, extended that the lower limit of voting age should be changed from 18 to 16 for both local and general elections. The New Zealand Parliament website notes that as many as 7,467 people signed the online petition in support of the proposition.
According to to Make It 16, the change in the voting age is necessary as 16-year-olds are “just as impacted by the decisions our government makes as people over 18 and we will be inheriting the future impacts of those decisions too.”
The advocacy group also says that 16 is a crucial age as most teens at this age start to take big decisions and hold important responsibilities which gives them the merit required for voting.
Decisions on issues like climate change, housing costs, decent education and an ongoing mental health crisis have a direct effect on people below the age of 18 and therefore, the group says that young people must also have a say in such decisions.
“Voting is a fundamental right. Every voice deserves to be heard in a democracy. Voting is about bringing together everyone’s backgrounds, life experiences and opinions to create an accurate representation of the wants and needs of everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand. By extending the voting age to 16, we’re allowing more voices to be heard, strengthening our democracy and helping the government to make better policies and changes that will benefit more people overall,” says Make It 16.
The Supreme Court has just declared that preventing 16 and 17 year-olds from voting is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. Parliament cannot ignore that. It is time to make the voting age 16!!!!!!
— Make it 16 (@makeit16nz) November 20, 2022
The group also said that preventing 16 and 17-year-olds from voting is unjustified “age discrimination” under the Bill of Rights.
Sanat Singh, the co-founder of the group told The Guardian, “Three years ago, we saw school strikes for climate … and there was a sort of global shift towards how do we give young people more of a say and more of a way to make a change on a large scale? Voting was one of those ideas.”
He added, “I was 16 in 2020, which was probably one of the most consequential elections in our lifetime – and issues that mattered to me about mental health, climate change and the state of our democracy were things that I was not able to have a say in.”
What has the Supreme Court said?
Terming the current voting age “discriminatory” the ruling comes after the court observed that it was inconsistent with New Zealand’s Bill of Rights.
Apart from this the Supreme Court also said, according to a report by Indian Express, that the attorney-general was unable to prove the legality and reason why 18 had been chosen as the age to vote rather than 16.
The court said, “As Make It 16 says, section 21 of the Human Rights Act clearly sets the age of 16 as the point from which actions may be discriminatory. The position in New Zealand in this respect differs from that in comparable jurisdictions. In Canada, the United Kingdom, and in Australia, by contrast, discrimination on the basis of age is prohibited but the legislation does not define ‘age’ by reference to a specific age.”
“A declaration is made that the provisions of the Electoral Act 1993 and of the Local Electoral Act 2001 which provide for a minimum voting age of 18 years are inconsistent with the right in section 19 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 to be free from discrimination on the basis of age; these inconsistencies have not been justified in terms of section 5 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act,” the ruling added.
While four out of the five judges were in favour of Make It 16’s appeal, a fifth judge had some issues with certain aspects of the ruling.
Now, the ruling requires discussions at the Parliament following which it would have to get the approval of 75 per cent of the majority at the House of Representatives to become a formal law.
What does the Bill of Rights say about age discrimination?
New Zealand’s Bill of Rights Act of 1990 extends the right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds contained in the Human Rights Act of 1993.
As per the Act, “Discrimination occurs when someone is treated unfairly or less favourably than another person in similar circumstances.”
As per the law, unlawful discrimination occurs when someone is deliberately distinguished due to their age.
Although the Act does not offer criminal sanctions for age discrimination, there are remedies available that are intended to be compensatory and corrective in nature.
Anyone who faces discrimination due to age can lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.
Who supports and who opposes?
The ruling has found the support from both citizens and authorities including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who said she “personally favoured lowering the age” to 16 but said that it was up to the majority to decide its fate.
She said, “I personally support a decrease in the voting age but it is not a matter simply for me or even the government. Any change in electoral law of this nature requires 75% of parliamentarians’ support.”
According to The Roanoke Times, the Liberal Green Party also supported the change. The party’s electoral spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman said, “Young people deserve to have a say in the decisions that affect them, both now and in the future.”
However, the country’s two main conservative parties do not support the change.
The country’s opposition leader Christopher Luxon said, “It’s not something we support. Ultimately, you’ve got to draw the line somewhere, and we’re comfortable with the line being 18.”
With inputs from agencies
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