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Welsh Assembly extends voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds

1 min read Youth Work
Sixteen- and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in the Welsh Assembly election in 2021 after members passed a groundbreaking bill.
It is the first time the voting age has been lowered since 1959 Picture: Adobe Stock
It is the first time the voting age has been lowered since 1959 Picture: Adobe Stock

The historic Senedd and Elections bill was today voted for by members resulting in the biggest shake-up of the Welsh democratic process in 60 years.

This means that 16- and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in local and Welsh Assembly elections after the legislation comes into play in January 2020.

The last time the voting age was lowered, from 21 to 18, was in 1959.

Members passed the bill by 41 votes, just exceeding the two-thirds majority of 40 votes needed.

Llywydd of the Assembly, Elin Jones AM said: "This was a vote to empower our young people to participate in the democratic process by extending the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds – a move which, for some, is long overdue. 

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