Bermuda Lowers Voting Age to 18
Parliament decided Friday to bring Bermuda into line with the rest of the democratic world by lowering its voting age to 18 from 21.
In a unanimous vote, the 40-member House of Assembly on the British colony agreed to allow teen-agers the vote from June 16, 1990, just two days before the United Kingdom will mark the 20th anniversary of its first election that included 18-year-olds.
The ruling United Bermuda Party had resisted moves to reduce the voting age because it said the large number of teen-agers would have an unbalancing effect on the 30,000-strong electorate.
The opposition Progressive Labor Party has pressed for a reduction in the voting age since 1972. Julian Hall, a party spokesman, said it had been “dragged kicking and screaming” into introducing the measure.
The party has said a proposed referendum on whether capital punishment should be abolished will be delayed so 18-year-olds can take part.
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