Votes at 16

Expansion of the Voting Franchise

All the evidence shows that, when they are given the opportunity, our young people’s engagement in politics is second to none.

The SNP has always believed that the right to vote should be extended to 16 and 17 year olds for all elections. On 18th June 2015, the SNP Scottish Government's Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Act 2015 was passed unanimously by Members of the Scottish Parliament.

This legislation allows 16 and 17 year olds to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections. It followed the extension of the franchise specifically for the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, which saw huge numbers of young people engaged with the future of their country.

This extension of democratic participation in our political systems has been put into practice many times throughout the past decade. 16 and 17-year-olds were enabled to vote in the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections, 2017 Scottish local government elections, 2021 Scottish Parliament elections, and 2022 Scottish local government elections.

And, of course, the voice of 16 and 17 year olds will be heard in May's Scottish Parliament election. Rightly so.

According to the law, under-18s are already permitted to leave school and be outside of education altogether. They can work in the public, private, and third sector and be taxed accordingly, get married, become parents, join the British armed forces, obtain a driver’s license at the age of 17.

But 16 and 17 year olds in Scotland are still prevented by Westminster from voting in UK Government elections - and their counterparts south of the border still cannot vote full stop. In fact, it was on the same day that the 2015 Act was passed in Scotland that Tories in the House of Commons blocked the rights of 16 and 17 years olds to vote in the referendum that gave us Brexit.

The SNP has also extended the voting franchise to all foreign nationals with leave to remain - people who have made Scotland their home - including all those granted refugee status.