Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) – The SPD parliamentary group has failed with its push to lower the voting age in state elections in Hesse to 16 years. The political participation of young people is important to the state government, said Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU) on Thursday in the Hessian state parliament in Wiesbaden. However, he still thinks it makes sense to link the voting age to the age of majority and legal capacity at the age of 18.
“Anyone who can vote in a democracy has a say, can influence and shape things,” parliamentary group leader Günter Rudolph justified the Social Democrats’ draft law. “That’s why it’s so important for young people to be able to take part in political life through the right to vote.”
