New Zealand lawmakers will take a vote on whether to lower the national voting age from 18 to 16, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday.
Her announcement came hours after the country's Supreme Court ruled that not allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote amounted to age discrimination.
A number of countries are debating whether to lower their voting age. Some that allow people to vote at 16 include Austria, Malta, Brazil, Cuba and Ecuador. "That's why I think it's really important to get all hands on deck to make sure we can have a stronger future," he said."I personally support a decrease in the voting age but it is not a matter simply for me or even the government," Ardern said. "Any change in electoral law of this nature requires 75% of parliamentarians' support."
At the Supreme Court, four judges found in favour of the lobby group's appeal with a fifth judge dissenting to some aspects of the decision.
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