By Hildburg Bruns and Pauline von Pezold
Voting at 16 is coming! Next time, young people will also have a say in who governs the Red City Hall and the Berlin Parliament. The CDU/SPD Senate unanimously gave the green light to the draft law to lower the 18-year age limit.
But the Berlin MPs now have the final say. A two-thirds majority of parliament is needed for this constitutional change – the missing votes come from the Greens and the Left, for whom it is a project close to their hearts.
But not for the Berlin CDU – it gives in to its coalition partner SPD on this issue, and the final YES in parliament will certainly be negotiated with the approval of its own desired projects. For example, with planned tightening of the police law.
Across Germany, the Union is preventing a reduction for 1.3 million young voters – so the traffic light government (SPD, Greens, FDP) is not making any changes for federal elections.
“I wouldn’t vote at the moment, even if I could, because I don’t have the necessary political knowledge and I don’t even know who I would vote for,” says Gina (17). Photo: Ralf Günther
New in the capital: Around 50,000 young Berliners between the ages of 16 and 18 will have the right to vote in the next Berlin election (2026). This means they represent two percent of the 2.5 million eligible voters.
“You can then help shape your own future,” says Interior Senator Iris Spranger (61, SPD). And: They will also be able to take part in referendums and referendums in the future.
It is already clear that 16-year-olds will be able to vote for the first time in the upcoming European elections next June. The Bundestag decided this in January. 16- and 17-year-olds have been determining who gets involved in Berlin’s twelve district town halls for a long time.
Iris Spranger, Senator for the Interior Photo: DAVIDS
With the planned change at the state parliament level, Berlin is by no means a pioneer. Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein have long since lowered their age from 18 to 16 years – NRW is planning it.
How the voting age has changed over time? 150 years ago, men aged 25 and over voted, and from 1919 women were also allowed to vote (everyone aged 20 and over). After the Second World War up to 21 years, in 1970 down to 18 years.
By the way, the passive right to vote, i.e. the eligibility to be elected as a member of parliament, remains unchanged at 18 years of age.
“The Greens and the SPD in particular will benefit“
Hermann Binkert (58) has been researching insights, attitudes, moods and wishes for years with his opinion research institute INSA. BZ asked him three questions about the age reduction in Berlin:
BZ: Which party benefits from younger voters?
Hermann Binkert: The Greens and the SPD in particular are likely to benefit from lowering the voting age. The presumably low voter turnout in this very young group of voters and the generally low number of eligible voters under the age of 18 are unlikely to have a decisive influence on the overall election result.
INSA boss Hermann Binkert (58) Photo: INSA
How do electoral programs change if the right to vote applies from the age of 16?
This question should be asked of the parties. Since the election programs are not predominantly the deciding factor for those over 18, it will be no different for those under 18 either. But topics and language for this target group in the election campaign have to be different.
16-year-olds will be allowed to take part in the European elections as early as 2024. A good start or rather frustrating because voter turnout is usually low?
There are reasonable arguments for and against lowering the voting age. But if the voting age is lowered, it seems to me that it makes sense for all parties to make an effort to appeal to this new group of voters. The turnout of first-time voters in the European elections will also show how well they succeed.