Petition · past parliament
Allow 16 year olds to vote in referendums that will have impacts upon them.
Rejected
14 signatures
What the petition asks
Young people are affected by politics and not allowing young people, who will be most affected by constitutional change or a change in membership of international bodies like NATO, the UN and the EU, to vote on referendums of this nature, flies in the face of democracy.
Regardless of potential effects on the outcome, students and workers aged 16+ should be allowed to have there voices heard in a national referendum. Referendums are rare occurrences and as someone who was unable to vote in the EU referendum due to being a meagre 5 months too young, and aware of some who missed the vote by mere days, it is a truly effective way to disenfranchise young people with politics at a time where falling turnout in elections is a poltical crisis.
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
14
Status
Rejected
Rejected
28 Jun 2016
Follow this petition
Sign in to get an email when the government responds, a debate is scheduled or held, or the petition closes.
Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.