Recently Alda submitted commentary to Alþingi — the Icelandic parliament — on a bill that would allow younger voters to vote in council-elections. The bill, if passed as law, would enable people from 16 years of age to vote, while the current minimum is 18 years.

Alda endorses the bill. Our reasoning is that it is an essential right of everyone to be able to participate in how their society is goverened, both in terms of democratic discussions and making final decisions. In Alda’s opinion, restrictions on who is allowed to vote should be absolutely minimal, and without any imposed complexity. Further, we believe that people are usually capable of participating in democratic discussions and decisions from the age of 16. We do not believe that putting restrictions on voting based upon pre-conceived ideas of knowledge and ability should be basis for disallowing a certain group of people to vote, as the right being discussed is basic human rights. We do think that the current restrictions, which imply that people aged 16 and 17 years cannot vote, are too restrictive. We therefore endorse the bill.

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The bill is available here, and Alda’s commentary is available here (both in Icelandic).