Another proposal for youth suffrage proposal rebuffed in ballot

Efforts to introduce youth suffrage have suffered another setback on Sunday but promoters are not giving up. (Archive picture) © Keystone/Peter Klaunzer

Voters in canton Bern have given short shrift to a proposal aimed at lowering the legal voting age to 16.

It is the latest in a series of setbacks for promoters of youth suffrage in Switzerland. More than half of the country’s 26 cantons have rejected similar proposals over the past decade.

Just over 67% of voters rejected the proposal by the Bern cantonal parliament according to official final resultsExternal link on Sunday.

Opponents, notably the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, had argued that legal age and voting rights should not differ.

All other main groups had come out in favour of extending voting rights to 16- and 17-year old Swiss citizens on cantonal issues, saying it was in the interest of democracy.

So far, only canton Glarus with its open-air assembly has introduced youth suffrage in Switzerland.

National level

Despite the defeat at the cantonal ballot boxes, moves are still underway to promote youth suffrage at a national level.

A parliamentary committee is preparing a draft proposal to be discussed at a later stage.

Similar efforts are being made in at least eight cantons, including in Lucerne, either in parliaments or with people’s initiatives.

Campaigners have also announced separate plans to launch a people’s initiative by 2024 to push for more inclusion in Switzerland’s direct democracy. Their draft proposal focuses on youth suffrage, voting rights for foreigners and digital signature collections.