Whereas youth have a strong interest in the future of local communities; And whereas empowering young people to participate in democratic processes fosters ongoing and active civic participation: Therefore be it resolved that the Province of British Columbia revise the voting age for local government elections to 16 years of age.
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Government is interested in encouraging active civic engagement among all British Columbians. Traditionally, the voting age in local and provincial elections have been the same and requires voters to be 18 years of age at the time of voting; this ensures both consistency and helps to minimize public confusion in relation to voting. Lowering the voting age for local elections would require careful consideration and analysis including considering matters such as exploring reasons of age requirements on voter eligibility, ease of administration and the implications of a divergence in the voting age for federal, provincial and local elections. Issues such as the adoption of provincial voters lists for local elections and voter identification requirements would also need to be considered. Currently, no Canadian jurisdiction permits youth to vote in regular elections. Several jurisdictions worldwide, including Austria, Argentina, and Scotland, have lowered the voting age to 16. Future work will include reviewing the experiences of these and other jurisdictions.