The Twenty-sixth Amendment

The Twenty-sixth Amendment provides that the right of citizens 18 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. The idea dated to World War II, when the draft age was lowered to 18 under the slogan old enough to fight, old enough to vote. Georgia lowered its voting age to 18 in 1943 and Kentucky in 1955, but most states kept 21, and the Vietnam War, fought largely by draftees under 21, renewed the push.

In 1970 Congress lowered the voting age to 18 by statute as part of the Voting Rights Act amendments. In Oregon v. Mitchell later that year, a divided Supreme Court held that Congress could set the age for federal elections but not for state and local ones. Facing the prospect of separate voter rolls and ballots, Congress proposed the amendment on March 23, 1971, and the states ratified it on July 1, 1971, in about 100 days, the fastest ratification in American history.

The amendment added roughly 11 million potential voters. Turnout among young voters has generally trailed that of older Americans, though it rose markedly in 2018 and 2020. Litigation has tested whether rules affecting students, such as residency requirements for college voters, limits on student identification, and polling place access on campuses, amount to age discrimination. Some localities now allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in municipal elections, a choice the amendment permits but does not require.