With the national election taking place this year, the Central App decided it was a good time to ask what young people in our region think about the non-partisan movement Make it 16 to allow 16 year olds to vote. 

The topic of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 has been widely debated over the last decade.

“The voting age shouldn’t be lowered as there is a drastic difference between 16 and 18 year olds,” Dunstan High School pupil Emily Templeton said.

The differences include lower maturity levels and younger teenagers having a lack of political education at school. 

“A very small percentage of 16 to 17 year olds would actually vote. They just aren’t interested,” Emily said.

But not everyone agrees with her assessment. 

Some students at Dunstan High School believe that because most 16 to 17 year olds have jobs, they should have a say in how their tax money is spent. 

As one student said: “at the age of 16 we can leave school, get a driver's licence, hold a firearm licence and change our name so why is voting any different?”  

This view is echoed by the Make it 16 group which has taken this topic to the high court in New Zealand. 

“We are just as impacted by the decisions our government make as people over 18 AND we will be inheriting the future impacts of those decisions too,” the group says.

The Make it 16 group has taken the argument to the high court.  PHOTO: Makeit16.org.nz

The group won its case and a bill is now being drafted to put before parliament to lower the age. It will require three quarters of MPs to support the bill for it to pass.

There are very few countries that have the voting age set at 16; they include Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba and Scotland.

Closer to home, concerns have been raised across Central Otago about low voter turnout. For example, in Cromwell's recent by-election, only 30 per cent of eligible voters submitted their votes. 

Allowing 16 year olds to participate could lift that engagement. These young people will also live with the consequences of the decisions made by councils and community boards.

Meanwhile, the 2023 General Election will be the first time 18-year-old Year 13 students at Dunstan High will be able to vote in an election.

“I feel like I’m mature enough to vote this year. It’s exciting,” Claudia Hammond said.

Young people participating in voting is a topic The Central App’s cadets will be exploring this election year.