Should the voting age in Bavaria be lowered to 16? Absolutely, says Regensburg high school student Celin Hagen. No, says CSU politician Tobias Reiß. A debate.
Around 9.4 million people are allowed to take part in the Bavarian state parliament election, but there is a major imbalance within the voter groups. Due to demographic change, young voters are losing voting power, while the proportion of older voters continues to rise: Fewer than 800,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 25 will be able to vote on October 8th, compared to 2.7 million in the age group 65 and over. That has an impact on politics. Since this year, the “Vote16” initiative has been promoting a referendum to lower the voting age in Bavaria to 16. A sensible step? Celin Hagen, high school student and volunteer youth advisor in Regensburg, and Tobias Reiß, parliamentary director of the CSU parliamentary group, discuss this.