Austria lowers minimum voting age to 16

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Austria's Council of Ministers on Wednesday agreed to bring forward a law allowing 16-year-olds to vote in national elections. The change is included in a larger legislative package that the country's parliament is expected to approve before the summer recess. It would also introduce absentee ballots and extend the country's legislative period from four to five years. The minimum voting age is already 16 for some local elections in Austria, but for general elections it is 18. Austria would be the first country in the European Union to lower the voting age across the board.