The United Kingdom is preparing to lower the national voting age to just 16 years old ahead of the next general elections.
Government offices announced the initiative on Thursday in an effort to expand the right to vote and “strengthen the foundations of our society for the future.”
“This will mean young people, who already contribute to society by working, paying taxes and serving in the military, will be given the right to vote on the issues that affect them,” the government said in an announcement, calling it “the biggest change to U.K. democracy in a generation.”
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It’s the country’s first change in minimum voting age since 1969, when the cutoff was lowered from age 21 to age 18.
The decision is not a total surprise. The Labour Party promised
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