Cantonal (Bern): Voting Age 16

On 25 September on the cantonal level in Bern, voters will be asked to decide on lowering the voting age to 16. We have collected all the information on the vote for you here.

Do you want to approve the amendment to the cantonal (voting age 16)?

In November 2021, the Grand Council approved a constitutional amendment to introduce the voting age of 16 at cantonal and communal level. This means that young people aged 16 and over will be able to vote. The right to stand for election - the possibility of being elected to political office - is to continue to apply from the age of 18.

The lowering of the voting age to 16 is the subject of a recurring debate. Currently, the issue is also being discussed in other cantons and at the federal level. So far, the issue has not been successful. One exception is the canton of Glarus, where the voting age of 16 has been in force since 2007. In the canton of Bern, voting age 16 was last widely discussed in 2009 and rejected by voters at the ballot box.

The Grand Council now wants to enable 16- and 17-year-olds to have an active political say and thus tie in directly with political education in primary school. At the same time, this would give the votes of the young a little more weight in the face of an ageing electorate. A minority in the Grand Council rejects the voting age of 16. In their view, there should be no difference between the age of consent under civil law from the age of 18 and the age of political consent.