Grisons to vote on lowering voting age to 16, doubts after Glarus experience

On 27 September, citizens of the canton of Grisons will vote on an amendment to the cantonal constitution that would lower to 16 the age for voting and electing representatives at cantonal and communal level. The right would apply to around 3,000 sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds. The proposal does not touch eligibility for office, which would remain set at 18.

The reform is backed by the cantonal government, the majority of the Grand Council, the Centre party, left-wing parties and the Green Liberals. It is opposed by the Swiss People's Party and the Radical-Liberal Party, together with their youth wings.

Supporters see the aim as bringing young people closer to politics. Socialist Grand Council member Davide Vassella notes that young people are "sempre più responsabilità" (increasingly asked to take on responsibility) and that it would be consistent to let them immediately put into practice what they learn in civic education classes.

The Glarus experience

The only concrete precedent in Switzerland is Glarus, which in 2007 became the first canton to open the ballot box to sixteen-year-olds. Political scientist Daniel Kübler, of the University of Zurich, has studied the effects of the reform: 16- and 17-year-olds show the same political maturity as those aged 18 to 25, but turnout, measured against the total number of eligible voters, has fallen. Only the absolute number of voters rose, because the pool of eligible voters grew larger.

The question of eligibility for office also divides young politicians in Grisons. Alessia Wehrli, of the Young Radical Liberals, considers it wrong to separate active from passive voting rights, arguing that responsibility should be taken on in full. Andriu Decurtins, of the Young Centre, defends the proposal instead as a good compromise: voting starts at 16, and one can be elected at 18.

Swiss People's Party Grand Council member Gabriela Menghini-Inauen questions the reform's consistency. She points out that the age of majority in Switzerland remains 18, and proposes investing instead in civic education.

Kübler also simulated the effect of a vote by sixteen-year-olds on the federal referendum on fighter jets, which was decided by a narrow margin. In all likelihood, the outcome would not have changed, even though young people would have been somewhat more likely to vote no.

If the amendment passes, Grisons would become the second Swiss canton to lower the voting age, nineteen years after Glarus. Similar proposals have been rejected in Uri, Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Neuchâtel, Zurich, Bern, Aargau and Lucerne. The question raised even by opponents remains open: given that low turnout affects all age groups, would lowering the voting age or investing in civic education make more of a difference.