Senior Taiwanese lawmakers have officially set the clock ticking on a national referendum to lower the voting age to 18.
Days after the legislature voted in favor of the measure, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun and opposition leaders posted the voting age proposal on the legislature’s notice board. That formal step means that a six-month waiting period can now begin, before voters head to the polls in a referendum to decide the issue.
That referendum has to take place before December 28 this year in order to be valid.
You says letting young people take part in deciding Taiwan’s future would be a “greatly significant” move.
According to Taiwanese law, constitutional amendments like lowering the voting age need to get the support of half of all Taiwan’s eligible voters to go into effect. That means there needs to be a high voter turnout at the referendum. For that reason, Taiwan’s government wants the referendum on lowering the voting age to happen at the same time as local elections in November.
But the timing of the referendum is not the government’s decision to make. Taiwan’s Central Election Commission will discuss the issue and announce its decision in the coming months.