Members of the South Australian Student Representative Council (SA SRC) want young people to have a say in the decisions that impact their lives and futures. It is important that young people’s voices are being heard, and that input from young people is included in decision making.
Lowering the voting age is an opportunity to make democracy fairer, improve civics education, recognise young people’s rights and strengthen young people’s participation in issues affecting them. The voting age has changed throughout history, and should continue to evolve to reflect the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of young people today.
This position brief outlines the goals and methodology of the Our Future Our Voice campaign, and provides a summary of the poll held across South Australian schools which assessed students’ attitudes towards greater civics engagement and lowering of the voting age.
Our Future Our Vote is one of five campaigns undertaken by the 2024 SA SRC. You can also access the position briefs for Fitness for Free, Free Fares for Our Future, Greening Our Canteens, and Seeing Ourselves.