Graubünden rejects lowering the voting age to 16

67% of voters rejected the reform, keeping the voting age in Graubünden at 18. The decision, taken on Sunday, September 27, closes the door for now on a constitutional change that would have brought roughly 3,000 16- and 17-year-olds into cantonal elections and referendums from next year.

The result was consistent across the canton. Every municipality voted against the proposal, with the sharpest opposition recorded in Buseno in Val Calanca, where almost 90% voted no. The Moesa region followed with almost 78% opposition, while the Bernina region recorded nearly 76%. Turnout stood at 45%.

Graubünden’s decision leaves Glarus as the only canton where 16- and 17-year-olds can vote at cantonal level. Switzerland’s federal voting age remains 18, and most cantons have kept the same threshold for their own ballots. The Graubünden vote therefore carried significance beyond the canton’s borders. It tested whether a second canton was prepared to extend political rights to teenagers and offered a measure of public support for a reform that has repeatedly returned to the Swiss political agenda.

The strongest opposition approached 90% in Buseno, showing how firmly the proposal was rejected in parts of southeastern Switzerland. The no vote also dominated the canton’s larger regional blocs, with almost 78% opposition in Moesa and nearly 76% in Bernina.

The geographic pattern matters because the reform’s supporters had argued that young people should participate where decisions shape their education, transport, climate policy and future economic prospects. The proposal would have applied to cantonal elections and referendums. Municipalities would still have retained the power to decide separately whether 16- and 17-year-olds could vote in local contests.

The final result did not follow a simple left-right division. The Centre, Social Democrats, Greens, Protestant Party and youth organisations linked to the Centre and Liberal Greens backed the initiative. The Swiss People’s Party and Young Radical-Liberals campaigned against it. The Radical-Liberal Party abstained. Andrin Ehrler of the initiative committee said the outcome was “a heavy defeat”, while adding that the result was less decisive than defeats recorded in other parts of Switzerland. Turnout reached 45%, leaving the reform defeated by a clear majority of those who voted.

Opponents said under-18s lacked the political maturity required for the vote. Their campaign also focused on the risk that teenagers could be more susceptible to influence through social media. They argued that a voting age of 16 would sit uneasily alongside civil and constitutional rules that assign major responsibilities at 18.

Supporters took a different view of political readiness. A majority in the Graubünden parliament saw earlier participation as a way to counter the ageing of Swiss society and involve young residents in decisions that will affect their adult lives. Parliament nevertheless sent the constitutional question to voters, including lawmakers who had reservations about the reform.

The debate reflects a familiar Swiss tension. Voting is a legal right, while political education develops through schools, families, associations and direct experience with public decisions. Supporters believe participation can build that experience. Opponents want the state to preserve a clear age threshold and question whether teenagers can make independent choices in an environment shaped by rapid online campaigning.

Ehrler said the result revealed a lack of trust in young people, alongside limited confidence among young people themselves. He also noted that the usual left-right pattern failed to emerge, suggesting that the question cut across established party alignments.

Glarus now stands alone among the cantons with cantonal voting at 16. Graubünden’s rejection makes a rapid expansion of the model less likely in the short term, although it does not remove the issue from Swiss political debate. The proposal’s supporters have already said they intend to keep working on youth participation.

Ehrler called the defeat disappointing but not surprising, citing experience from other cantons. He said Graubünden had missed the chance to take a pioneering role and argued that a strong youth assembly remains necessary. That points to other ways of involving younger residents, including consultation rights, school-based political education and youth bodies that can place proposals before elected authorities.

The vote also leaves open the question of whether federal and cantonal lawmakers will continue to treat voting at 16 as a constitutional reform or as part of a broader participation strategy. For now, the electorate remains fixed at 18 in Graubünden, and local authorities retain discretion over municipal voting rights. The immediate message from voters is clear: expanding the franchise requires more than parliamentary support. It needs public confidence that 16- and 17-year-olds are ready to exercise the same political right as adults.