4. Will the First Minister make a statement on eligibility to vote in Welsh elections? OAQ52479

Yes. To be eligible to vote in Welsh elections you need to be registered and 18 years of age or over on polling day. I do intend, however, to support the bid to extend the franchise to include 16 and 17-year-olds.  

Thank you, First Minister. I've been contacted by a former constituent who's written to me to say that he feels disenfranchised at not being able to vote in Welsh elections. He was born in Wales and raised locally and has extensive family in mid Wales. He moved from mid Wales to Shropshire, where his job took him, and then went to work abroad. Contacting the election office in Powys, they've advised him that, as an overseas resident, he can only register to vote where he last lived. So, as a Welsh national, he is able to vote in a UK general election, but he can't vote in a Welsh general election. So, this does seem to me to be an anomaly. Can I ask if you are aware of this issue? If you are, has the Welsh Government made and could the Welsh Government make representation to the Electoral Commission?

I think that's very difficult. There are two ways in which you can establish someone's right to vote. One is residence, obviously; the other is citizenship. We don't have Welsh citizenship. There are some in the Chamber, I know, who would seek to promote that, but, in the absence of Welsh citizenship, residence is the only way of doing it. The question then is: how far back do you go? What if someone lives in Wales for a week or two? Does that mean they're eligible? I think there are lots of difficulties there that would need to be resolved in order for a change in the law to be workable.

First Minister, would you agree with the expert panel on Assembly electoral reform that a reduction in the minimum voting age to 16 would be a powerful way to raise political awareness and participation among young people?

Yes, I would. I have to say, we have seen one electoral event in the UK, namely the Scottish referendum, where 16 and 17-year-olds were allowed to vote. That precedent having been established, I fail to see why that can't operate in the future for all of them—for elections and referenda. It seemed to work very well in Scotland; the turnout seemed to be very good amongst those who were 16 and 17 years old, showing that they were engaged, one side or the other, in the issues in 2014. That's why I'm supportive of lowering the voting age to 16.