Petition · past parliament
Lowering the voting age to 16 within all UK elections & referendums.
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
16 and 17 year olds are knowledgeable and passionate about the world they live in & are as capable of engaging in the democratic system as anyone else. Participation in free elections is a fundamental human right, 16-17 have a huge contribution to make and are not being heard.
Other countries are waking up to the idea and this issues has been ping ponged between the House of Commons and Lords since 1998, its time for a change and a real commitment to supporting the interests of at least 1.5 million potential voters, many of whom are in full-time higher education, work, are eligible for civil partnership and to be sent to war.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 26 Jun 2016 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 28 Jun 2016 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
28 Jun 2016
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.