In Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro you can legally vote at 16.

In Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro you can legally vote at 16.

A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain before they become eligible to vote in a public election. As of the present day, the most common voting age is 18 years; however, voting ages as low as 16 and as high as 25 currently exist (see list below). Most countries have set a minimum voting age, often set in their constitution. In a number of countries voting is compulsory for those eligible to vote, while in most it is optional.

When the right to vote was being established in democracies, the voting age was generally set at 21 or higher. In the 1970s many countries reduced the voting age to 18. The debate is ongoing in a number of countries on proposals to reduce the voting age to or below 18.

In 1890, Law No. 5, 1890, of the South African Republic set a voting age there of 16 years.[1]

Prior to the Second World War of 1939–1945, the voting age in almost all countries was 21 years or higher. In 1946 Czechoslovakia became the first state to reduce the voting age to 20 years, and by 1968 a total of 17 countries had lowered their voting age.[2] Many countries, particularly in Western Europe, reduced their voting ages to 18 years during the 1960s and 1970s, starting with the United Kingdom (1969),[3] with the United States (26th Amendment) (1971), Canada, West Germany (1972), Australia (1974), France (1974), and others following soon afterwards. By the end of the 20th century, 18 had become by far the most common voting age. However, a few countries maintain a voting age of 20 years or higher, and a few countries have a lower voting age of 16 or 17.[4] It was argued that if young men could be drafted to go to war at 18, they should be able to vote at the age of 18.[5]