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Cities consider lowering voting age to 16

Hoping to stem the tide of disinterested, young voters, urban municipalities will vote Wednesday on a plan that would urge the province to let 16-year-olds cast a ballot in local elections.

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Hoping to stem the tide of disinterested, young voters, urban municipalities will vote Wednesday on a plan that would urge the province to let 16-year-olds cast a ballot in local elections.

In a meeting of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association in Calgary this week, the City of Lethbridge will bring forward a resolution asking to amend the Local Authorities Election Act to expand the local election franchise to 16 years of age.

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Jeff Coffman, a Lethbridge city councillor who graduated from the University of Lethbridge with a master’s degree in political science, argues the change would welcome an age group that is already studying democracy in high school and could set in place lifelong habits that build a new generation of engaged voters.

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“The Alberta Education curriculum has these kids already learning about democracy in school,” said Coffman.

“You may not see 100 per cent participation right away, but this is about an opportunity to build good habits early on, and build our voters of the future.”

Coffman added socializing youth into the habit of voting has been proven to work, with recent research indicating that the earlier a person votes, the greater their natural tendency to remain an active voter throughout their life.

As well, other jurisdictions are also exploring the idea, Coffman argued.

Later this year, the New Brunswick legislature will be dealing with a Bill to lower the voting age. The board of supervisors for the City of San Francisco recently approved amending their city charter to lower the municipal voting age to 16. And, state legislators in Massachusetts, New York and New Mexico are currently dealing with electoral reform legislation that would lower the voting age in their respective states.

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Coffman added that 16 and 17 year old Scots voted in the 2014 independence referendum to determine Scotland’s democratic future.

Mount Royal College political science professor Duane Bratt.
Mount Royal College political science professor Duane Bratt. Photo by Christina Ryan /Calgary Herald

Still, not all political pundits think it’s a great idea.

“There are people who are 16 and 17 who do have the capacity to vote, but they’re a very insignificant minority,” said Duane Bratt, chair and professor at Mount Royal University’s Department of Policy Studies.

“If you can ask why not 16, then why not 15 or 14? The real question is what impact will this age group actually have and the answer is very little. The whole idea is a little unrealistic.”

But Coffman argued with voter turnout declining in national, provincial and municipal elections, already, politicians should be willing to try new ways to improve engagement.

Research has indicated fewer and fewer youth vote in each successive election, he explained.

For example, in 1984, 72 per cent of 18-24 year olds voted in the federal election. But by 2011, only 38 per cent of 18-24 year olds cast a vote. In fact, that 2011 result was five per cent lower than the 18-24 year old turnout only five years earlier, 43 per cent in 2006.

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Rob Miyashiro, also a City of Lethbridge councillor, supported Coffman’s idea, agreeing that more efforts need to be made to engage younger voters, particularly at a time when social networking and exchanging ideas is an important part of their lives.

“Young people can be informed, as well as any adults. Teachers can talk about it with their students.”

Miyashiro says he would even like to see high school field trips to voting stations become a part of social studies curriculum during election years.

“I don’t see how it would hurt the process in any way, so why not give it a try.”

If delegates at the AUMA convention approve the resolution, the group will lobby the provincial NDP government to amend the Local Authorities Election Act as required.

The AUMA’s membership includes many cities, towns, villages, summer villages and specialized municipalities across the province, including the City of Calgary.

eferguson@calgaryherald.com

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