Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
source
Name	Twenty-sixth Amendment
Caption	Page one of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, held at the National Archives.
Constitution	United States Constitution
Part of	the Bill of Rights
Ratified	July 1, 1971
Ratified by	38 of the 50 states
Previous	Twenty-fifth Amendment
Next	Twenty-seventh Amendment

Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution established a uniform national voting age of eighteen for all federal, state, and local elections. Ratified in 1971, it was a direct response to the widespread sentiment that individuals old enough to be conscripted for military service, particularly during the Vietnam War, should possess the right to vote. The amendment is notable for being ratified more quickly than any other in U.S. constitutional history, reflecting a broad national consensus. It significantly expanded the American electorate by granting suffrage to millions of young citizens.

Text

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Background and historical context

The movement to lower the voting age gained substantial momentum during the Vietnam War, as young men as young as eighteen were being drafted to fight under the Selective Service System while being denied the ballot. The slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote" became a powerful rallying cry, championed by groups like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and supported by figures such as President Lyndon B. Johnson. This argument had historical precedent, having been used to justify lowering the voting age from twenty-one during World War II in debates within Congress. Prior to the amendment, the voting age was set by individual states, with most, including Georgia and Kentucky, maintaining it at twenty-one, though a few like Alaska and Hawaii had set it at nineteen or twenty upon admission to the Union.

A pivotal legal catalyst was the case of Oregon v. Mitchell (1970), heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. In a complex decision, the Court ruled that while Congress could lower the voting age to eighteen for federal elections via legislation like the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, it could not impose that age on state and local elections. This created an untenable administrative situation where states would have to maintain separate voter rolls for different elections, prompting the drive for a constitutional solution. The political climate, marked by widespread anti-war protests and the activism of groups like the National Education Association, created immense pressure on lawmakers in Washington, D.C. to resolve the issue uniformly.

Proposal and ratification

The amendment was proposed by the 92nd United States Congress on March 23, 1971. It passed the United States Senate unanimously and the United States House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support, 401–19. The ratification process was the fastest on record. Connecticut became the first state to ratify just three days after congressional proposal. The drive was led by a coalition including Senators Birch Bayh of Indiana and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and was strongly endorsed by President Richard Nixon.

Ratification was completed on July 1, 1971, when Ohio became the 38th state to approve it, just 107 days after its proposal. The Administrator of General Services, Robert Kunzig, certified the ratification on July 5. Several states, including Florida, California, and Illinois, ratified after the required three-fourths threshold had been met, bringing the final total to forty-two states. Notably, no state voted to reject the amendment, though some, including Arizona and North Dakota, did not take ratification votes.

Effect and subsequent history

The immediate effect of the Twenty-sixth Amendment was the enfranchisement of approximately 11 million new voters between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one. It fundamentally altered the American political landscape, making candidates and parties more attentive to issues affecting younger demographics, such as education, the environment, and foreign policy. The first major federal election held under the amendment was the 1972 United States presidential election, where newly eligible voters participated in the contest between Richard Nixon and George McGovern.

Subsequent legal history has centered on the amendment's enforcement clause. In the 2013 case of Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which had been used to enforce the Twenty-sixth Amendment against jurisdictions with histories of discrimination. Debates continue over youth voter access, including policies on voter identification, registration drives on college campuses, and the location of polling places. Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Brennan Center for Justice frequently litigate issues connected to the amendment's guarantee.

See also

* Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution * Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution * Voting rights in the United States * Youth suffrage

Category:Amendments to the United States Constitution Category:Voting rights in the United States Category:1971 in American law