Councillor Dianne Saxe is leading a drive to allow 16 and 17-year-olds vote in Toronto municipal elections.
A Toronto City Councillor has a fight on her hands as she tries to sway Council to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in municipal elections.
Councillor Dianne Saxe in a motion is seeking that Council extend ‘voting opportunities’ in City polls to 16 and 17-year-olds.
Saxe said in Canada the minimum voting age is 18-years-old across all jurisdictions.
“Fourteen Canadian municipal councils and school boards have passed motions in support of extending voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds, or studying the policy,” she wrote.
The matter will be considered by City Council.
There are campaigns in other jurisdictions for teens to vote.
“…Sixteen-year-olds are sufficiently mature, informed and ready to exercise the right to vote,” according to the motion. “
Saxe cited a list of 17 countries where the voting age is 16 for at least one level of government. Some of the countries include: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Estonia and others.
She said Canadian scholars have found that 16- and 17-year-olds are not less politically developed than adults and can be more or just as knowledgeable as adults.
“Compared to 18- and 20-year-olds, they know as much about political institutions, the campaign promises, and the candidates,” according to the motion.
It cited research by Elections that found the teens are just as interested, if not more, in participating in various forms of political activity, including voting and non-electoral civic activities.
“Youth want to be more involved across governments and have more opportunities to grow as leaders and sustain leadership opportunities,” Saxe wrote. “Youth want to participate in the decisions that affect them.”
The motion listed a number of measures that can be made to recognize teens and allow them to vote in city elections, where they are directly affected.