2. What action is the Commission taking to raise awareness amongst those newly eligible to vote of their right to do so in the May 2021 Senedd elections? OAQ55211

Awareness raising is a key priority for the Senedd Commission ahead of the next Senedd election, particularly among 16 and 17-year-olds, who will be able to vote for the first time. This includes contributing to the development of appropriate resources, which will be available from May onwards. And we're also working with partners such as the Electoral Commission and the Welsh Government to raise awareness in time for the elections next year. 

I'm very grateful to the Llywydd for her answer, and it's extremely encouraging. I wonder if she can say a little bit more about how young people themselves are being involved in the discussion about how best we can communicate these messages to them? And, on a slightly different but related matter, can she tell us what partnerships are being developed to enable those foreign national citizens who will be able to vote in our Senedd elections to become aware? I just happened to have a conversation with a friend of mind who's originally from Romania, and she was very surprised, as well as very delighted, to know that she'd be able to vote in the next election, as would her husband, who's originally from Poland. So, those two points, really—how are we involving young people in the discussions about how best to get the messages across, and how are we enabling those citizens whose roots are elsewhere to understand that they can vote in this election?

Thank you for those two aspects of the question, relating to the two new aspects of the franchise that will be relevant to the elections next year. Of course, we have been preparing somewhat longer for the franchise to include 16 and 17-year-olds, assuming that that would be part of the legislation, and so our work certainly involves young people through the Youth Parliament, and through those partners who have collaborated with us in establishing the Youth Parliament, and who work directly with young people and with our work as a Commission in providing our support to schools in undertaking extra-curricular or outreach work to promote awareness among young people in Wales of democracy and the new right that they will have, and that work will intensify and continue in the months to come.

In terms of the second aspect of the question about the franchise expanding to include foreign nationals, of course, that's an aspect that's newer for us as a Commission, because it became part of the legislation during the scrutiny process, and so our hope is to work with the Government and the Electoral Commission to ensure that the citizens in Wales who have this new right to vote in the election next year will be aware of that. So, we will be, over the coming months, starting this important work to ensure that the Government and local authorities, of course, provide the correct information to people about their right to vote, bearing in mind, of course, that this has happened in time not just for the vote next year but importantly for the canvass this year to put people on the register for voting next year. 

Llywydd, I was in Garth Olwg school in my constituency recently, and I can tell you how enthusiastic so many of the young students are that they will actually be participating in the Assembly election votes next year. One of the things that was considered when the legislation was going through the Assembly was not only the issue of political education but also the idea of how we actually make voting easier—the digitisation, perhaps, of the electoral register, perhaps the automatic registration of 16-year-olds, because they are all either in school or in colleges, and that would be something that would be quite feasible. And also why shouldn't it be the case that we have ballot boxes in schools? So, all of these were new ideas that were suggested in terms of how to make voting easier and also to increase participation in voting. Are any of those things on the cards? Are they under consideration? Might you be able to enlighten us as to whether there has been any progress with some of these ideas?

Well, these, of course, are ideas and issues that were raised during the scrutiny process of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill, as they are with the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill in its scrutiny process at the moment as well. I think it's a matter for Welsh Government to propose legislation on changing the way that we vote, rather than who votes for this Assembly, and I know that there is some discussion around that as part of the local government and elections Bill, and I know that these are issues that interest a lot of people, because making sure that we make voting accessible as well as interesting for people is something that should unite us all.

How we do that and when we do that are matters, I think, that we need to possibly discuss a little bit more here in this Senedd itself, and I'm up for having that discussion. We're not there yet, but I'm sure that these are ways that—the young people will lead us older, more traditionally thinking people along those routes. Myself, I wouldn't be against voting on my own phone. I could do it from here now, if I could. But I think we will move with the times. At this point, we're probably moving a little bit too slowly in order to keep up with how young people want to engage with us, but we need to be open to those new ideas that are coming from schools like Garth Olwg and other schools right throughout Wales. 

Commissioner, the expert panel advising on electoral reform, specifically extending the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds, recommended a programme of proper political education as part of the curriculum. Has this education really been going on for long enough, as the new law has only just recently passed, and what representation has the Assembly Commission made to the Welsh Government to make this happen?

Thank you for the question. Yes, you're perfectly correct that the expert panel was very strong in its view that political education alongside the right to vote were two equally important measures to take in enabling young people to take part in the democratic process. The Commission is working with the Welsh Government, the Electoral Commission and others, but in particular, in this aspect of resources available to schools, to develop with Welsh Government resources that will be available as of September, the September term, to enable those 16 and 17-year-olds that are in school to access the most up-to-date information on their new right to vote at 16 and 17, remembering, of course, that not all young people with that new right will be in a school setting—also in a college setting and also in work settings—and we need to make sure that everybody is as equally empowered to know of their new right and how to exercise that right.