Launched in November last year by assembly member and presiding officer Dame Rosemary Butler, the #Vote16Wales consultation received more than 10,000 responses from young people aged between 11 and 25 years old.
It found more than half of respondents (53 per cent) want the voting age lowered to 16, while 29 per cent said they did not want the age lowered, and 18 per cent said they were unsure.
Meanwhile 58 per cent said they would vote at an election tomorrow if they were eligible, while 79 per cent said they think it is important for young people to learn about politics.
Butler said: “This is the biggest ever response we’ve had to an assembly consultation and therefore offers an authoritative analysis on the views of young people on this issue.
“This report is a unique contribution to the debate about lowering the voting age.
“Whilst politicians at Westminster and here in the Senedd have debated the issue at length, this gives us crucial insight to the views of people directly affected by a potential change in the law.”
The survey also found that 77 per cent of respondents believe that school or college is the best place to learn about politics and the voting system.
Butler added: “At a time when the Secretary of State for Wales is finalising a new draft Wales Bill to include devolving electoral arrangements for assembly elections, the sample size and the considered view of young people as highlighted in the report gives me a clear mandate to inform assembly members that it is the will of the young people of Wales to lower the voting age to 16.
“My fellow politicians and I must also listen to many hundreds of comments that reflect the young generation’s desire to vote but inability to do so because of their lack of understanding of the process.”
Last month 16- and 17-year-olds were granted the right to vote in all Scottish parliamentary elections and Scottish council elections following the passing of the Scottish Election (Reduction of Voting Age) Bill.
