How will votes at 16 and changes to voter ID work?

The government has said that the age of voting before the next general election will be 16 in Britain.

Other planned changes include allowing more forms of voter ID and moving towards automated voter registration.

Change means About 1.5 million 16 and 17-year children will be able to vote in the next general electionWhich must be held by 2029, but may be first.

The government says that the change will give young people a chance to say how the UK is run.

Democracy Minister Ronsara Ali said, “At the age of 16, a young man can work, they pay taxes, they can join the army. So there is no reason that from that age, they should not say anything to control our country.”

The commitment to reducing the age of voting was in Labor’s 2024 election manifesto.

This represents the biggest change for voter’s makeup as the voter’s age was reduced to 21 to 18 in 1969.

This means that 16 -year -old children will be able to vote in all elections across the UK. As is the case in Scotland, young people will also be able to register to vote on 14.

For local council elections in Scotland and Wales, as well as the minimum turnout age for Welsh Parliament and Scottish Parliament elections is already 16.

However, you currently need 18 years to vote in the UK parliamentary elections, local elections in England and all elections in Northern Ireland.

You will still need 18 years to stand as a candidate.

In the future, voters will be able to prove their ID with the bank card issued by the UK, who show their name, say Govenment.

Voters in England, Scotland and Wales since May 2023 Necessary to show valid photo ID To vote for a person in all general, local and national elections.

Are currently More than 20 acceptable forms of IDPassport, driving license, bus pass and armed force experienced card.

No one can apply for free document without a valid ID One voter authority certificate,

However, some 4% of those who did not vote in the 2024 general election said that it was due to the voter ID rules, according to the Election Commission, which monitors the UK elections.

Rules are different in northern Ireland Where voters have had to show photo ID since 2003.

The Election Commission estimates that about seven million people are wrongly registered or missing from the election register. This means that they cannot vote.

It says that private tenants and young people are unevenly affected.

The government wants to make an automatic voter registration plan in the coming years. It says that there will be safety measures so that people know about their registration status and can opt-out.

Voters have to opt-in to join the open election register, which is publicly available. Any one under 16 will appear on an open register.

An Electoral Commission report of 2023 suggested that automatic registration may include organizations such as passport offices, which provide names and addresses of eligible people to vote for electoral registration officers.

Currently, eligible adults in the UK need to register to vote. it Can be done onlineOr using a paper form.

The government wants to change the deadline for applying for postal vote.

It will be taken from 11 to 14 working days before polling day.

This should make it more likely that people get their ballot in good times.

The rules around the party donation will also be tightened. The government says that this will help in dealing with foreign intervention in the UK elections.

Companies will require adequate income in the UK or Ireland to be able to donate.

Parties must assess the position of potential donors before accepting money.

The Election Commission will be able to submit a fine of up to 500,000 to those who dissolve the rules.

The National Union of Students welcomed the decision to reduce the voting age as a “historic moment for democracy”.

Lib Dames also supported the decision to vote for 16-and-17-year-old children, but called upon the government to do more to deal with foreign intervention in elections.

The conservatives stated that the age policy was “disappointingly confused”, indicating that 16 -year -old children cannot “marry, go to war, or even stand in elections”.

It also criticized the announcement time. The adjacent summer brake means that Parliament will not be able to investigate the proposals by September.

The reform said that 16 and 17 -year -old children should not be able to vote in elections where they could not participate as candidates.

The latest parliament can be dissolved for the general election, on the fifth anniversary of the day he met for the first time.

However, 25 working days are allowed to prepare for elections again.

The current Parliament began from July 9, which means that the next general election should be held by August 2029.

However, the Prime Minister may say an election subject to the king’s formal approval, within a period of five years, at the time of his selection.