Supporting young people to cast their vote with confidence
The UK Government has committed to lowering the voting age so that 16-year-olds can vote in all UK elections, giving around 1.5 million additional young people the right to participate.
Young people who have just gained this right are more likely to take part in elections if they understand how the voting process works and what they need to do, making access to high-quality democratic education essential for building their knowledge and confidence.
Our 2026 youth opinion research found that 78% of young people think they should learn more about politics in school and college, yet only 30% of under 18s had heard about it there within the last year.
Andrew, Youth Voice Champion
"We can support people to become informed by educating people on who the political parties are, what they offer, and how to vote."
A national framework to guide educators and young people
We have commissioned expert organisations to deliver a new project, Improving Democratic Education, to provide support, training and resources to schools, youth settings and parents. This work will ensure that democratic education provision is consistent and that all young people have the opportunity to learn about democracy, voting and elections.
Northern Ireland Youth Forum will convene organisations in Northern Ireland, create democratic education resources, and expand training for educators and youth workers.
The Politics Project will convene this work. Building on the Democracy Classroom platform, they will bring together project partners and academics to create and share high‑quality democratic education resources and training.
Shout Out UK will map media‑literacy provision, using the insights to co‑design new resources, campaigns and workshops to build young people’s resilience against mis- and disinformation.
Skating Panda will use their communications expertise to disseminate this work, starting with a competition encouraging schools to participate in democratic education activities.
Young Citizens will research primary democratic education needs and create practical tools and recommendations, including their Big Democracy Lesson.
Get in touch
The Electoral Commission provides education resources for use in both formal and informal education settings to support young people to learn more about the UK’s democracy and their own vote.
If you’d like to discuss this work in more detail, please contact: [email protected]
We are looking for educators, schools and colleges to get involved with piloting new training, guidance and resources from September 2027. Sign up to receive updates and opportunities.
