16 and 17 year-olds To vote in Independence Referendum

20th October 2012

All 16 and 17 year-olds will be able to have Referendum vote.

The Scottish Parliament will be asked to ensure that all 16 and 17 year-olds have the right to vote in the referendum for an independent Scotland, First Minister Alex Salmond announced today.

The Scottish Government will introduce legislation paving the way for the necessary preparatory work to ensure all of those aged 16 and 17 at the time of the historic referendum vote in autumn 2014 will be able to participate.

Following the Edinburgh Agreement signed last week by the First Minister and Prime Minister, the Section 30 order transferring legal responsibility for the referendum to the Scottish Parliament will shortly be considered by Holyrood.

Once that has happened, the Scottish Government will ask Parliament to accelerate a bill paving the way for all 16 and 17-year olds to be included on the electoral roll in time for the referendum, so that the legislation is in place by the 2013 summer recess.

That will enable work to take place to include a canvass of 15 to 17 year-olds as part of the electoral canvass planned for 2013.

The bill will ensure that everyone aged 16 and 17 on the day of the referendum can be included on the electoral roll - not just so-called "attainers" covered by the existing electoral canvass proposals.

Announcing plans for the Bill, the First Minister said:"The independence referendum will be the most important vote in Scotland for three centuries, and we have made it clear we believe the youngest adults in the country should be able to have their say on the nation's future.

"I can today announce we will introduce a bill to make sure that all of those aged 16 and 17 on the day of the referendum in two years time will be able to vote in it.

"The Scottish Government's consultation asked people whether they thought 16 and 17 year-olds should be able to vote in the referendum.

"We will very shortly be in a position to publish the responses to that question and the others posed by the consultation.

"What is absolutely vital is that all 16 and 17 year-olds are in a position to have their say if the Referendum Bill includes proposals to give them the vote.

"It would be totally unsatisfactory to be in a situation where some of those in that age bracket were able to vote but others were not because of the way the electoral roll is currently constructed.

"This bill will close that potential loophole and make sure that every single person in Scotland who is aged 16 or over on the day of the referendum will be in a position to vote."

Extending the electoral canvass to ensure that all 16 and 17 year-olds can be given the vote will involve Scottish electoral registration officers introducing software changes to create a young persons register.

The proposed bill will see the Scottish Government work closely with electoral registration officers and other stakeholders to develop the legislation and the practical arrangements to implement it.