ERS in the Press – Coverage we’ve secured in the GE campaignYou might have noticed that there’s a general election approaching. Whilst the date of the election may have taken us all a little by surprise, the ERS communications team were ready to go and making...Posted 25 Jun 2024
Could this be the last general election that excludes 16 and 17 year olds?At the Electoral Reform Society, we have long been advocates of extending the right to vote to 16 and 17-year-olds in general elections. So, we were pleased to see that, when asked on the campaign...Posted 29 May 2024
Voters trusted themselves to vote at 16 – let’s expand the franchiseDo you think you should have been able to vote from 16? New research commissioned by The Body Shop and The British Youth Council has found that 64% of adults would have liked to have...Posted 18 Aug 2023
Exploring the franchise: Who can vote in UK elections?The franchise has been in the news recently due to Labour considering plans to extend the franchise to resident EU citizens and 16 and 17 year olds. The question of who gets to vote in...Posted 25 May 2023
Welcome to Your Vote Week – Raising young people’s political awarenessThis week is Welcome to Your Vote Week, a campaign by the Electoral Commission to spark campaigners across the UK to speak to students in schools and raise young people’s political awareness. Amidst a global...Posted 02 Feb 2023
Electoral Commission report calls for better political education in WalesThe Electoral Commission report on May 2022’s local elections in Wales, published yesterday, highlights that the extension of the franchise is only the first step in ensuring the participation of new groups of voters in...Posted 22 Sep 2022
Early indications suggest Welsh voting pilots went wellIn May’s local elections, four areas in Wales trialled a different way of voting – allowing people to cast their vote before election day. As well as polling stations being open on the Thursday 5...Posted 05 Aug 2022
Now it’s over to the Lords to prevent the government’s assault on democracyYesterday was a dark day for democracy. Despite widespread opposition from campaigners, election experts, academics and civil society the government’s Elections Bill successfully passed through the commons. The Bill includes clauses introducing voter ID, more...Posted 18 Jan 2022
First time votes for 16 and 17 year olds in Wales – what Westminster can learnThis week we saw history happen in Wales. After years of ERS Cyrmu campaigning for the rights of 16 and 17 year olds to vote in Wales, the first election with an expanded franchise took...Posted 07 May 2021
My 20 years of campaigning for votes at 16This is a guest post from Kelly Harris, a qualified youth worker who has worked with children and young people for 20 years across Wales. I still find it hard to believe that it has been...Posted 26 Apr 2021