Taipei: A legislative committee has approved draft amendments aimed at lowering Taiwan's voting age from 20 to 18, urging the Legislature's Constitutional Amendment Committee to initiate a formal constitutional revision process. The Internal Administration Committee cleared amendments to the Public Officials Election and Recall Act, as well as the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act.

According to Focus Taiwan, the revised bills would not only grant voting rights to 18-year-olds but also enable citizens aged 18 and above to endorse presidential and vice presidential candidates through petitions. Despite bipartisan support for aligning Taiwan's voting age with international norms, the proposal confronts a constitutional barrier. Article 130 of the Republic of China Constitution mandates that voters must be at least 20 years old.

Following constitutional amendments in 2005, any formal revision requires approval by three-quarters of the Legislative Yuan and ratification through a national referendum supported by over half of eligible voters. This move comes after a failed 2022 constitutional referendum on the voting age issue, where despite backing from major political parties, the initiative did not meet the required threshold.

To address this, a supplementary resolution was passed, urging coordination between the Constitutional Amendment Committee and statutory changes. Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang reported that as of February's end, Taiwan had 411,731 citizens aged 18 to 20, with approximately 70 percent residing in the six special municipalities.

Wang Hsiao-lin, director of the Central Election Commission's Department of Electoral Affairs, stated that lowering the voting age would introduce about 410,000 new voters and impact election operations, including polling station arrangements and voter registry preparation. Wang highlighted that the forthcoming elections are scheduled for November 28, with the official election notice set for August 20. If the amendments are enacted post-notice, the existing voting age of 20 will remain in effect for this year's elections.

Under the approved amendments, the implementation date will be determined by the Executive Yuan. Internal Administration Committee convener Liao Hsien-hsiang from the Kuomintang (KMT) mentioned that the bills will now proceed to cross-party negotiations before undergoing further legislative review.