Austria's voting age lowered to 16

Austria's Black-Red coalition has enacted a voting rights reform that includes a provision lowering the active voting age to 16 and the passive voting age to 18. This makes Austria a pioneer in Europe: everywhere else, you have to be 18 to vote. Herbert Vytiska agrees with the reform, but reflects on another side of the story. "Dropping the election age to 16 is meant to prompt discussion about whether the over-60 generation is under-represented in Parliament, and whether the over 67-generation is not represented at all, and is forced to cede its representation to the children and grandchildren. Today's under-18 generation is more mature than yesterday's, but the over-60 generation is not any more fossilized than its predecessor. It's just the opposite. They too, maybe even especially they, can contribute to the development of society and (in proportion) to urgently needed reforms, thanks to their experience and their knowledge."

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