New Zealand voting age at 16: Supreme Court ruling, and what lies ahead

Voting age in New Zealand was previously lowered from 21 to 20 in 1969, and then to 18 in 1974.

What the Supreme Court said

Terming it “discriminatory”, the court observed that the current voting age of 18 was inconsistent with the country’s Bill of Rights, which gives people a right to be free from age discrimination when they have reached 16.

The court also ruled that the attorney-general had failed to show why 18 had been chosen as the age to vote rather than 16.

“As Make It 16 says, section 21 of the Human Rights Act clearly sets the age of 16 as the point from which actions may be discriminatory. The position in New Zealand in this respect differs from that in comparable jurisdictions. In Canada, the United Kingdom, and in Australia, by contrast, discrimination on the basis of age is prohibited but the legislation does not define ‘age’ by reference to a specific age,”the court said in its ruling.

“A declaration is made that the provisions of the Electoral Act 1993 and of the Local Electoral Act 2001 which provide for a minimum voting age of 18 years are inconsistent with the right in section 19 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 to be free from discrimination on the basis of age; these inconsistencies have not been justified in terms of section 5 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act,” the court said.

Four judges were in favor of the lobby group’s appeal, with a fifth judge dissenting to some aspects of the decision.

What next?

The Supreme Court ruling does not mean that the voting age would be reduced to 16. However, the matter would now be taken up for discussion in the parliament.

According to the recent New Zealand Bill of Rights (Declarations of Inconsistency) Amendment Bill, any legislation that is seen as inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 by senior courts will be considered for a larger debate in parliament.

Also, changes to electoral law in New Zealand require support of a 75 per cent majority of the House of Representatives to become law.

Supporters and opposers

Political parties have expressed mixed views on the subject.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she personally supports a decrease in the voting age, but added that it was not just for her or even the government to decide on the matter. “Any change in electoral law of this nature requires 75 per cent of parliamentarians’ support,” she was quoted as saying by AP.

New Zealand’s ruling liberal Labour Party is yet to take a stance on lowering the voting age.

Hours after the top court ruling, Ardern said New Zealand lawmakers will take a vote on whether to lower the national voting age from 18 to 16.

The liberal Green Party wants immediate action to lower the voting age.

However, the two two main conservative opposition parties — New Zealand National Party and ACT New Zealand, have opposed a change in the existing law.

Countries that allow voting at 16

The debate on voting age has been rampant since 2000, when a number of countries began to consider whether the voting age ought to be reduced further, with arguments most often being made in favour of a reduction to 16.

Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Guernsey, Jersey, Malta, Nicaragua, Scotland and Isle of Man allow voting from the age of 16.