Do you think 16 or 17-year-old should vote in our elections? The academic Prof George Williams thinks so. He has been urging the government to implement voluntary voting for 16 and 17-year-olds, and regulating “electoral lies” to prevent “baseless claims” such as Donald Trump’s about unproven electoral fraud in the US. Williams, a professor of constitutional law and the deputy vice-chancellor of the University of New South Wales, called on the government to “remove the outdated disqualification of people of ‘unsound mind’ and [extend] the vote to Australians living overseas”. “Consideration should also be given to extending the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds by way of a cautious, incremental path,” he said. “Initially, the vote should extend to this age group on a voluntary basis.” The former opposition leader Bill Shorten promised before the 2016 election to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote, but Labor has not recommitted to the idea at subsequent polls. Williams argued it was “notoriously difficult to get 18-year-olds to enrol and vote” as they were too busy moving to university or into employment, out of home, and forming new relationships. “Joining the electoral roll can be low on their list of priorities. “On the other hand, 16 and 17-year-olds tend to be in a more stable family environment, and still at school.” Many 16 and 17-year-olds were “more passionate about the future of our nation and their democratic rights than other sections of the community”, he said. Williams warned Australia’s laws allowed politicians to “lie with impunity in the hope of misleading voters to secure electoral advantage”. #auspol #auspolitics #youth #voting #auselection