A Legislative Assembly committee has handed down an unfavourable report on the ACT Greens’ proposal to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in local elections.

Backbenchers Johnathan Davis and Andrew Braddock, the Greens’ youth and democracy spokesmen respectively, presented a bill in December, seeking to amend the Electoral Act 1992 and lower the voting age for ACT elections from 18 to 16 years.

The bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety, a five-person panel comprising two Greens, two Canberra Liberals, and one ACT Labor MLA, chaired by Jeremy Hanson MLA.

When they presented their bill in December, the Greens MLAs argued it would empower young Canberrans, “many of whom are more engaged in politics than their parents or grandparents”, and strengthen democracy, “giving more Canberrans a formal say in how the ACT Government should work for them”.

The bill was supported by youth advocacy groups, including the Youth Coalition of the ACT, and Run for It. The Greens have sought to lower the voting age in the ACT for the last 25 years; youths can vote in Germany, Scotland, Austria, and Malta.

The report recommended that the Legislative Assembly not pass the Bill, but that the ACT Government explore ways to further engage young people in the democratic process.

“While it seems on the surface a simple thing to lower the voting age, it’s actually a very complex issue,” said Dr Marisa Paterson, the Labor MLA who was on the committee. “The inquiry raised a lot of issues for and against it.

“It wasn’t an argument about whether young people had the capacity to vote or not. People broadly believe that they absolutely do. It’s really about engaging young people in the political process, and what ways that we can look to do that in the ACT better, and by the time that young people are 18, that they’ll be highly engaged and highly informed, motivated voters.”

Mr Braddock said he was disappointed the Committee did not support the Bill, despite evidence from a coalition of more than 30 academic experts from universities and the youth sector. The Greens would continue their campaign.

The chief stumbling block seems to be that the Greens’ motion would make voting compulsory, rather than optional, for youths.

“The Electoral Amendment Bill 2021 is likely unique in proposing to require people aged 16- 17 years to enrol and vote, and applying criminal offences and penalties for non-compliance,” the Committee’s report noted.

The ACT Electoral Commissioner, Damian Cantwell AM, CSC, told the Committee he opposed the bill, concerned that failure by 16- and 17-year-olds to vote would be a criminal offence, possibly resulting in criminal court proceedings and a fine, conviction, or other sentence.

“The current legislation provides an appropriate level of voter accessibility to electoral services without imposing big obligations and penalties upon minors that would flow from compulsory enrolment and voting,” Mr Cantwell said.

The Committee was also wary of the “possible negative effects” of obliging young people to vote, “in particular, the potential impact on the mental health and wellbeing of young people who are not yet willing or able to engage with the political process”. It was not clear that any benefits claimed for young people and communities when the voting age was lowered, described in overseas research journals, “would be demonstrated in a situation where young people are voting involuntarily”.

There was no way to make voting optional for under 18-year-olds, Dr Paterson remarked; doing so would lead to two different systems in the ACT.

“People are reluctant to start to muck around with compulsory voting,” she said.

Dr Paterson was concerned that schools could unduly influence students. “Perhaps you might end up in a situation where some schools – particularly non-government, religious-based schools – may put pressure on students to vote a certain way.” She thought there would have to be discussions around protections for young people, and discussions around politicians engaging with schools and political material in schools.

“If the bill went through, how would you support young people so you don’t end up with bullying and harassment around the way kids might vote?”

Another side-effect, Mr Cantwell told the Committee, was that the ACT would become non-aligned with all other jurisdictions, possibly confusing teenagers’ eligibility and compulsion to vote in federal (and other state and territory) elections.

Having different voting systems for the ACT and federally was an issue, Dr Paterson thought. “You look at what’s happening in America. We need to do everything to protect our democracy and preserve our compulsory voting system and uphold it. There are risks associated with starting to change things.”

However, young people could become involved with politics through the school system or community processes, Dr Paterson said. Teenagers can join Young Labor at 15, or the Young Liberals from 16.

“There’s absolute scope for young people to be involved in politics,” Dr Paterson said. “That should be encouraged, but there is a lot of issues around actually what the bill proposed.”

Elizabeth Lee, leader of the Canberra Liberals, said her party consistently supported the voting age remaining at 18 in the ACT.

“This is substantial electoral reform proposed by two Greens backbenchers with significant legal and social implications that have not been completely considered,” she said.

But the Greens are not vanquished.

“This is not the end of the Bill,” Mr Braddock said. “The Committee process has provided good feedback from the community that will allow us to improve the Bill and bring it back to the Assembly for consideration.

“Young people have shown they want a voice when it comes to the decisions that impact their lives and their futures, and we owe it to them to keep campaigning on this issue.”

“The ACT Greens will continue to advocate to empower young people to vote in ACT elections and give them a real say in their society,” Mr Davis said. “We have been campaigning for this policy since 1996, and we will continue to bring it into the chamber, with the community behind us in support of this important measure.”

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