A Lower Voting Age in the Low Countries?

Potential Effects of Voting Age at 16 for the Low Countries

Abstract

Is lowering the voting age to 16 years a genuine breakthrough in reigniting the youth’s enthusiasm for traditional politics in the long run? This remains a matter of uncertainty and, as such, forms the central inquiry of this exploration into the potential implications of extending voting rights to non-adults for Belgium and the Netherlands. The democratic landscape of the Low Countries stands at a transformative juncture, with Belgium marking a historic milestone by granting voting rights to non-adults for the first time in its political history.