I wrote about the merits of lowering the age of voter registration to 16 back in April, and I've turned it into a policy for the OYL South Central Regional Policy Parliament tomorrow. Take a look!
Encouraging Youth Democratic Participation and Improving Civic Education
WHEREAS – The lowest voter registration rates are for young voters 18-24 years of age
WHEREAS – There is a positive correlation between voting and being registered as a voter before General Voting Day
WHEREAS – Australia and several American states allow for voter registration below the age of 18
WHEREAS – The Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia recommended in 2011 in his Report to the Legislative Assembly to amend the BC Elections Act to allow the provisional registration of individuals when they are 16 years of age
WHEREAS – Ontario Young Liberals have previously passed policies encouraging youth democratic participation and improving the Civics class as part of Ontario’s curriculum
BE IT RESOLVED THAT – The Ontario government amend the Ontario Elections Act to permit the registration of individuals onto the voter list when they are 16 years of age
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT – The Ontario government amend the Civics portion of the Ontario High School curriculum to include the voter registration process, as the majority of students in grade 10 would be 16
1 comment:
Fantastic policy! Personally, I support reducing the voting age entirely to 16, but anything we can do to get young people more involved in the democratic process is a good thing.
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