Too young to vote? Voting at 16 is an exception in the European Union.

MadridThe debate about what role adolescents have in society and the conditions that this generation faces is recurrent, whether due to the appearance of a viral Netflix miniseries, as has been the case withAdolescence, as with the decision of the minority part of the Spanish government (Sumar) to once again raise the question of whether people should be able to vote from the age of 16. Opponents of the change to the electoral law cite, among other things, a lack of maturity, while those who defend it see it as a way of representing the concerns of this group and returning, with rights, some of the duties that can already be attributed to them.

Where does it apply?

If Spain lowers the voting age to 16, it will become one of the exceptions both within the European Union and globally. The only European countries that allow minors to vote in all elections are Austria, which did so in 2007, and Malta, a decade later. In the most recent European Parliament elections, two other countries joined without extending it to all elections. Germany and Belgium called 16- and 17-year-olds to the polls for the European elections on June 9, 2024, for the first time. In the case of Greece, the voting age is 17.

In 2022, the European Parliament recommended lowering the voting age to harmonize the situation in the member states and "reflect the current rights and obligations that young Europeans already enjoy in some member states." However, the vast majority have not yet taken the step. If we leave the European Union, the list expands, starting with Brazil, which pioneered voting in 1989 for young people aged 16 and over. Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Argentina, and Iran also allow voting two years before turning 18.

The Spanish proposal

Sources from the Ministry of Youth and Children speak of a "gradual" implementation of the lowering of the voting age. Therefore, they do not rule out replicating what Germany and Belgium have done. That is, starting by allowing it in one type of election, such as the European elections, and progressively expanding it to the rest, if there is consensus. "Caution" and "negotiation" are two of the words guiding a proposal that is still embryonic and does not have the support of Congress.

For now, what this ministry, headed by Sira Rego (IU), is proposing is to include a reform of the electoral law to set the voting age at 16 in the future youth law, which is currently a draft. The text is still being negotiated with the Socialist wing of Pedro Sánchez's government, which has avoided getting involved, although the PSOE has been open about it—at the last federal congress, in November of last year, it included it in its ideology. Rego's team's goal is for it to be approved in a Cabinet meeting before the summer. There have been no contacts yet with the parliamentary groups, and there is no forecast for when it will reach the Lower House.

However, ERC has already expressed its support. The Republicans have been putting forward proposals in Congress for years that propose this, but have never managed to muster a sufficient majority. Podemos and Sumar have also done so. The last attempt to open the melon was, in fact, with a non-legislative proposal by Yolanda Díaz's party, voted on at the end of June last year in a parliamentary committee. Faced with this non-binding initiative, the PSOE voted in favor, while the PP and Vox voted against. Juntos and the PNV were not present and have not made a clear statement on the matter.

The arguments for promoting it

And why should those under 16 vote? The Ministry of Youth and Children emphasizes that this responds to a "historical demand" from youth organizations, which they decided to listen to in the process of drafting the law. Youth of Spain.

In an analysis prepared to coincide with the work on the youth law, Javier Carbonell, deputy director of Future Policy Lab, and Kilian Wirthwein, professor at Carlos III University, defend the measure as a way to "strengthen the interest of political actors in the concerns" of young people, who have lost demographic weight. They also argue that the earlier people vote, the more confidence they gain in the democratic system and the greater voter turnout. One of the main arguments against it has to do with a hypothetical benefit for the far right.

Which parties do young people identify with?

In official surveys, from the CIS (National Electoral Commission) in Spain and the CEO (National Electoral Commission) in Catalonia, there is no data on minors. However, if we look at the 18-24 age group, the trend indicates that Vox has a significant niche of voters. This is also perceived by far-right groups themselves. Some have already reacted by celebrating that Santiago Abascal's party would benefit the most, to the detriment of the PP, which has an aging voter base. The CIS (National Electoral Commission) confirms that in this age group, there is greater identification with Vox than with other parties. In the December 2024 political participation study conducted by this state organization, 19% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 see Abascal's party as the one closest to their ideas.

While Vox has the highest percentage of identification, the PSOE is in second place with 17%, followed by the PP (12.5%) and Sumar (5.5%). The inclusion of those under 16 would mean including around one million potential voters in the electorate for whom social media has become a "fundamental element" in shaping their political attitudes, emphasizes Frederic Guerrero-Solé, professor of communication at Pompeu Fabra University, in a conversation. This gives the far right an advantage because there is a large amount of content that has this "ideological substratum." Not only directly, but also underlying content featuring video game players or celebrities that particularly impact a young, male audience, who are in a "critical" period in forming political opinions.

And what's the picture in Catalonia? According to the latest CEO barometer from early 2025, the party most supported by young people between 18 and 24 is the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), with 15.8%, followed by ERC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) with 13.7%, and Vox in third place with 9.3%.