The Welsh Government has laid out proposals for extending the right to vote in council elections to 16 and 17 year olds.
The proposals, which were announced in response to last year’s consultation on reforming the electoral system in Wales, also involve allowing all foreign nationals legally resident in Wales to vote in local elections.
As well as extending the franchise, the Welsh Government is looking at ways to ensure more people register to vote, including the introduction of automatic registration.
Cabinet secretary for local government and public services, Alun Davies, said: ‘The proposals we’re announcing this week will, we hope, help increase participation and improve the democratic process for everyone in Wales.’
Mr Davies called on local authorities to pilot innovative new voting methods.
These could include remote digital voting, mobile polling stations, and voting at places like supermarkets, local libraries, leisure centres and railway stations.
Mr Davies continued: ‘I would like to see authorities in Wales take the lead and pilot a number of innovative voting methods, something put on hold at the UK level since the mid-2000s.
‘I want to see whether, for example electronic voting or counting, voting on more than one day and in places other than traditional polling stations, could boost participation rates and improve the overall experience for Welsh voters.’
Director of the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) Cymru, Jessica Blair, said: ‘It is an opportunity for Wales to lead the way in creating a political system that works for everybody and it is particularly pertinent as we recognise the centenary of the first women getting the vote.’
ERS warned there would soon be a ‘glaring constitutional injustice,’ with 16 and 17 year olds able to vote in local elections in Scotland and Wales while around a million people of the same age in England and Northern Ireland would be denied that right.
Chief executive of ERS, Darren Hughes, said: ‘The Welsh Government is setting a positive example for Westminster — it’s time the UK Government followed suit in backing a franchise fit for the 21st century.'