Coalition, opposition lawmakers reject reports that government is considering lowering voting age

Both coalition and opposition members have rejected recent Hebrew media reports alleging that the government is considering lowering the voting age from 18 to 17, which would ostensibly boost votes for the parties within the coalition.

When asked by The Times of Israel about whether the proposal is being seriously considered, a Knesset source acknowledges that while there has always been “chatter” about the topic, it isn’t serious, and that it’s mainly been promoted by Haredi parties who are no longer in the coalition.

Several coalition lawmakers agree, telling ToI that the issue is not being seriously discussed right now.

Opposition lawmakers likewise say that they are unconcerned with the possibility of the government lowering the voting age, but acknowledge that if they were to do so, especially in a year with elections set for October, it would be fiercely opposed.

The last time that the idea was being seriously weighed was in July, when MK Meir Porush of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism’s Agudat Yisrael faction proposed a bill to reduce the voting age.

At the time, he said that this would increase the number of eligible voters by approximately 120,000. Such a measure is presumed to benefit the ultra-Orthodox parties since the Haredi population is extremely young, with 57% aged 19, according to an Israel Democracy Institute report published last month.

The bill failed to advance, and in August, UTJ exited the coalition over the government’s failure to pass a draft exemption bill for yeshiva students.

A spokesperson for Porush tells the Times of Israel that they have had “no contact with the government on this matter and no one from the government has spoken to us about it.”

He adds that while Porush “continues working to advance the legislation,” there have been no new developments.