Teenage voter turnout 'very low'

Feb 7 2013

Turnout at elections among 16 and 17-year-olds was "very, very low" after the voting age was lowered in Jersey, MSPs have been told.

Holyrood's Referendum (Scotland) Bill Committee heard that while there was no empirical data, "robust anecdotal" evidence showed few teenagers had exercised their new right to vote in the Channel Island's 2008 elections.

The committee took evidence from Michael de la Haye, clerk of the States Assembly in Jersey, as it investigates extending the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds ahead of the 2014 referendum on independence.

Lowering voter age for the referendum was approved as part of the Edinburgh Agreement, signed by the Scottish and UK governments, and the former intends to bring forward legislation to enable this to happen.

Mr de la Haye told the committee that Jersey, which is not officially part of the UK although its citizens are British, lowered its voting age from 18 to 16 in July 2007.

The change added around 2,000 names to the electoral roll.

He told MSPs that despite awareness-raising on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and a specially commissioned YouTube video, a senior returning officer had advised that turnout among the age group was low.

"Her view was what was widely said on the island, which was that apportionately the level of turnout in this age group had been very, very low," he said.

"She said 'we saw virtually no people who looked to me 16 and 17', there were some who came with their parents, but I feel the general message is that unfortunately we didn't reach the age group."

Mr de la Haye also told the committee that the island's Education Ministry had issued a "very strong message" that politicians would not be allowed to campaign in schools.