The Electoral (Lowering Voting Age for Local Elections and Polls) Legislation Bill proposed lowering the voting age for local body elections to 16.
This legislation was introduced as a result of a decision by the Supreme Court in the 'Make It 16 Incorporated v Attorney-General' case. This was a 2022 landmark decision in which the court held that the country's voting age of 18 was an unjustified limitation on the right to be free from age discrimination in section 19 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.
The PSA's submission supported lowering the voting age.
Related documents
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Submission on the Electoral Lowering Voting Age for Local Elections and Polls Legislation Bill Word document | 85 KB
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Submission on the Electoral Lowering Voting Age for Local Elections and Polls Legislation Bill Adobe Acrobat PDF file | 171 KB