New NZ Government Will Not Drop Voting Age to 16

The previous Ardern Labour government considered the move a ’test' towards dropping the voting age for national elections.
New NZ Government Will Not Drop Voting Age to 16
A voter casts a special vote during election day at Johnsonville School on Oct. 14, 2023 in Wellington, New Zealand. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
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Local government elections will continue to be decided by those 18 years or over, after the new tri-party New Zealand government axed an Ardern-era initiative to drop the voting age.

Local Government Minister Simeon Brown told the media last week the government did not support the Electoral (Lowering Voting Age for Local Elections and Polls) Legislation Bill, requesting the Justice Committee to end consideration of it.
Jim Birchall
Jim Birchall
Author
Jim Birchall has written and edited for several regional New Zealand publications. He was most recently the editor of the Hauraki Coromandel Post.
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