Lowering the voting age

Are 16 and 17-year-olds responsible enough to vote? Jeffrey Coffman thinks so, and he's got a plan to get them to the ballot box. 

Coffman, a city councillor in Lethbridge, Alberta, got a motion through council in support of teenaged voting at the municipal level: "By expanding the franchise...We can actually engage with a group of our citizens who are  going to be  the long term voters in our society."

By allowing younger voters, Coffman says you can capture their attention while they are still in school. 16 and 17-year-olds would learn about elections in social studies or civics class, and then would be able to go out and vote on election day. 

They're already talking about citizenship, they're talking about democracy, they're talking about these processes. We would have the opportunity to engage a group of citizens who are already learning about the system, learning about the structures. - Jeffrey Coffman, Lethbridge city councillor

He says civic elections are a great place to start, because teenagers use city services. They go to school, walk and drive on roads, take the bus, and use library and recreational facilities. However, changing the municipal voting age requires legislative change from the province, something he's hoping the new NDP government in Alberta will be willing to undertake.

Younger voting is on the table in New Brunswick too, where a youth organization is pushing government to take steps on a bill proposed by the province's Green Party leader, MLA David Coon.