Scottish Greens call for automatic voter registration in schools
As the Scottish Greens spokesperson for Education, Mr Greer has lodged an amendment to the upcoming Elections Bill ahead of its Stage 2 proceedings next week, encouraging the Scottish Government to fund projects which would automatically register high school, college and university students to vote.
Having led on the Scottish Youth Parliament’s work on lowering the voting age to 16 ahead of the 2014 independence referendum, the Green MSP believes that automatic registration of students would boost engagement with the democratic process and empower young people to help shape Scotland’s future.
Mr Greer said
"The debates and mock referendums we held in high schools are some of my favourite memories of the independence referendum.
“Giving sixteen and seventeen year olds the right to vote in 2014 didn't automatically mean they were going to use it, so schools across the country stepped up to help students make their voices heard. Teachers and council staff organised registration events, debates and mock votes.
“As a result, turnout amongst young people was incredibly high and the experience of lowering the voting age was judged so successful that it was made permanent for Scottish Parliament and council elections.
"Some schools have repeated those efforts in the decade since, as have colleges and universities. That hasn't been a consistent experience though, and young people's participation in politics has slipped back from that referendum-era high water mark.”
“My amendment to the Elections bill would give the Scottish Government and local councils a strong steer towards making similar efforts to those trialled with so much success a decade ago.
“Automatic voter registration, for example at the point a young person receives their SQA candidate number, would be far better value for money than just encouraging them to register themselves in their own time.
“There is also plenty of international evidence that automatic registration boosts participation in elections. Education institutions are an obvious location for these kinds of efforts to take place, so I hope MSPs on the committee next week will see the value of this amendment."