The Court of Appeal has agreed there is no justification to exclude 16 and 17-year-olds from voting, but it has decided not to issue a declaration on the "intensely and quintessentially" political issue.
The Court of Appeal found the Attorney-General provided no evidence to suggest 16 year olds lacked the necessary competence to vote. (File image) Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The appellant, Make It 16, took its case to the High Court last year, which found not being allowed to vote was discrimination under the Bill of Rights Act, but agreed with the Attorney-General that it was justified.
The group disagreed, saying there was no good reason why they should be excluded.
They took that fight to the Court of Appeal in August.
The court found the Attorney-General provided no evidence to suggest 16 year olds lacked the necessary competence to vote.
"On the contrary, what evidence there was before the High Court suggested they are competent.
"The decision rests not on a positive finding that discrimination on grounds of age cannot be justified but on what we have held to be a failure to attempt to justify the existing age limit."
But, despite agreeing with Make It 16's argument, the court declined the application for a declaration of inconsistency.
"The issue is very much in the public arena already. It is an intensely and quintessentially political issue involving the democratic process itself and on which there are a range of reasonable views.
"That being the context, we choose to exercise restraint and decline the application for declarations."
Make It 16 legal and policy team leader Thomas Pope-Kerr said while it was frustrating to not get the declaration, the group was counting it as a win.
"The court has agreed with pretty much everything we were saying. It's age discrimination and the government hasn't been able to justify it.
"Those are our two major points that we were trying to make to the court and they've agreed with them. So we're very happy about that."
He said the group would look at its options, but there was a "pretty good chance" it would apply for leave to have the appeal heard in the Supreme Court.
"In terms of other things that we're doing in the campaign, there's a lot. We've also got a petition which has got over 4400 signatures now.
"We're been pressuring MPs through a number of different places... We've now got this independent review that the government has set up to look into voting age and other things, so there's lots happening and this is just one part of the campaign."