\n People walk past a sign for a polling station during local council elections in Folkestone, England in May. The British government is announcing plans to lower the voting age to 16.
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Andrew Aitchison\/In Pictures via Getty Images<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Andrew Aitchison\/In Pictures via Getty Images<\/p>\n <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The British government says it will introduce legislation to lower the voting age from 18 to 16, as part of a slew of reforms aimed at modernizing U.K. democracy.<\/p>\n Officials announced a number of what they called “seismic changes” on Thursday, which include allowing bank cards to be used as voter ID and tightening rules on political donations.<\/p>\n \n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/p>\n The most headline-grabbing shift, however, is that 16- and 17-year-olds will be allowed to vote starting in the next general election. It must be held<\/a> by August 2029, though the prime minister can choose to call one sooner.<\/p>\n “We cannot take our democracy for granted, and by protecting our elections from abuse and boosting participation we will strengthen the foundations of our society for the future,” Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Labour Party campaigned in part<\/a> on lowering the voting age last year \u2014 in an election with just 59.7% turnout<\/a>, the lowest since 2001. The reforms must pass Parliament to become law, which appears likely since the Labour Party has a majority in the House of Commons, and the House of Lords traditionally does not block bills<\/a> promised in the governing party’s platform. <\/p>\n![\"Protesters](\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4480x4480+1120+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F04%2Ff6%2Fc697450a44ba8374669f4d377dae%2Fgettyimages-2219923907.jpg\")
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