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Austria Lowers Its Voting Age To 16

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The Associated Press

Published: September 26, 2008

VIENNA, Austria - Nina Stanke is too young to drive, but for her 16th birthday, she's getting the right to vote.

At a time when Barack Obama's presidential bid is energizing America's young voters and an expert in Britain is saying even children should be enfranchised, Austria has become the first European Union country to lower the voting age in national elections to 16.

Driving the change is demographics: As the birthrate falls, seniors are beginning to dominate the electorate. A law lowering the age limit from 18 passed in 2007, and Sunday's parliamentary election will be young teens' first opportunity to vote nationwide.

A few other nations allow voting at 16, including Brazil, Cuba and Nicaragua, as well as the Isle of Man and Jersey, offshore British dependencies. Sixteen-year-olds in Austria and neighboring Germany already have been able to vote in some local elections.

Nina, who turned 16 just this week, is one of up to 200,000 eligible citizens younger than 18 - and she's not about to pass up the opportunity to mark her Sweet Sixteen birthday by making her mark at the ballot box.

"Yes! I'm going to vote!" she said, speaking outside her Vienna high school.

However, many outside this country of 8 million don't share her enthusiasm.

Gerald Hyman, a governance expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, thinks it's absurd.

"Sixteen-year-old kids are worried about whether they're going to get their driver's licenses," he said Thursday. "Do you consider them mature citizens? Citizens who are going to make up their minds about policy?"

Others insist that teens are a valid constituency and deserve a voice.

Proponents point out that in Austria, 16-year-olds can purchase and drink beer and wine, even though they can't drive or perform national military or community service until 18.

Austria, like most EU countries, has low birthrates. Last year, the number of Austrians age 65 and older exceeded the population age 15 and younger.

"Giving the 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote just helped maintain the balance between the generations," said Christoph Hofinger, co-director of the SORA Institute for Social Research and Analysis.

"During this election, it could be decisive. ... Every vote counts," said Laura Rudas, 27, a Social Democrat who thinks it's her role to show young people that "politics can change the world."

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