The group set up by the Ministry of Justice will report this spring on what legislative changes are necessary and how much reducing the voting age would cost.
A recommendation to give the franchise to 16 year-olds has been made by the Council of Europe. So far, Austria is the only country where this is possible. Norway also looks set to cut the voting age in next year’s municipal elections.
Young people in Finland show little enthusiasm either for voting or taking part in party politics. Voting levels among the young remain some ten to fifteen percentage points below that of other age groups.
16 year-olds have been able to vote in church elections since the beginning of this year.