What does the 26th amendment say about voting?
The complete text of the 26th Amendment states: 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.
What is the 26th Amendment for 18 year olds?
The 26th Amendment: Voting Rights for 18-Year Olds. The complete text of the 26th Amendment states: 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.
When did the 26th Amendment go into effect?
Nixon, nevertheless, signed the Act which was to go into effect January 1, 1971. On December 21, 1970 the Supreme Court ruled that the government had indeed overstepped its legislative bounds in lowering the voting age. Fearing mass confusion over who could vote in the 1972 election, Congress quickly passed legislation proposing the 26th Amendment.
How many states voted to ratify the 26th Amendment?
After an overwhelming House vote in favor on March 23, the 26th Amendment went to the states for ratification. In just over two months–the shortest period of time for any amendment in U.S. history–the necessary three-fourths of state legislatures (or 38 states) ratified the 26th Amendment.
What was the significance of the 26th Amendment?
Section 1 of the 26th Amendment reads as follows: The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.
How did the 26th Amendment change voting rights quizlet?
What change to the Constitution did the 26th Amendment make? It lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 and no state can deny someone who is 18 or older the right to vote in their state elections.
How did the 26th Amendment affect voter turnout quizlet?
How did the 26th Amendment affect voter turnout? The 26th Amendment expanded the franchise to include the age groups least likely to vote, which may have contributed to lower levels of voter turnout overall.
Was the 26th Amendment successful?
The Supreme Court upheld the legislation in a 5 to 4 vote in applying the lowered voting age to federal elections only. A constitutional amendment was required to uniformly reduce the age to 18. Endorsed by Speaker Carl Albert of Oklahoma, the amendment passed the House by a vote of 401 to 19, on March 23, 1971.
What are the effects of the 26th amendment?
Ratified in July 1971, the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution lowered the voting age of U.S. citizens from 21 to 18 years old.
What is significant about the 26th amendment quizlet?
The Twenty-sixth Amendment guaranteed the right to vote to citizens 18 years of age and older. As a result, you can register, or sign up, to vote once you turn 18.
What is the 26th Amendment in simple terms?
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.
What was one important factor that helped pass the 26th Amendment in 1971 which lowered the voting age to 18 quizlet?
Consider the factors that led to the proposal to lower the voting age. In the 26th amendment our government lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. During the Vietnam war there was drafting and all the people that were not at the age of 21 did not have a voice in voting.
Which of the following amendments affect voting quizlet?
In 1971 the 26th Amendment gave those 18 and older the right to vote. The Constitution sets five restrictions on the ability of the States to set voter qualifications.
When were white men allowed to vote?
The original U.S. Constitution did not define voting rights for citizens, and until 1870, only white men were allowed to vote. Two constitutional amendments changed that. The Fifteenth Amendment (ratified in 1870) extended voting rights to men of all races.
What amendment did away with poll taxes?
On this date in 1962, the House passed the Twenty-fourth Amendment, outlawing the poll tax as a voting requirement in federal elections, by a vote of 295 to 86.
Why is the voting age 18?
A common slogan of proponents of lowering the voting age was "old enough to fight, old enough to vote". Determined to get around inaction on the issue, congressional allies included a provision for the 18-year-old vote in a 1970 bill that extended the Voting Rights Act.
What did the Voting Rights Act do quizlet?
signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.
What led to the ratification of the 26th amendment quizlet?
The Vietnam War led to the 26th Amendment because people felt if the kids were old enough to fight in the war, they should also be old enough to vote. It guarantees anyone over the age of 18 can vote.
What are the amendments that deal with voting rights?
The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, gave American women the right to vote.The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, eliminated poll taxes. The tax had been used in some states to keep African Americans from voting in federal elections.The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age for all elections to 18.
What do the 15th 19th and 26th amendments deal with?
The Fifteenth Amendment granted the right to vote to former slaves and people of color. The Nineteenth Amendment gave the vote to women, while the Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth amendments gave representation to the District of Columbia, forbid poll taxes, and lowered the voting age to 18, respectively.
What is the 26th amendment?
The 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution bars the federal government, as well as all state and local governments, from using age as a justification for denying the right to vote to any citizen of the United States who is at least 18 years of age. In addition, the Amendment grants Congress ...
When was the 26th amendment passed?
On March 10, 1971, the U.S. Senate voted 94-0 in favor of the proposed 26th Amendment. On March 23, 1971, the House of Representatives passed the amendment by a vote of 401-19, and the 26th Amendment was sent to the states for ratification the same day. 5
What was the minimum voting age in 1969?
In 1969 alone, at least 60 resolutions to lower the minimum voting age were introduced—but ignored—in Congress. 4 In 1970, Congress finally passed a bill extending the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that included a provision lowering the minimum voting age to 18 in all federal, state and local elections. While President Richard M. Nixon signed the bill, he attached a signing statement publicly expressing his opinion that the voting age provision was unconstitutional. “Although I strongly favor the 18-year-old vote,” Nixon stated, “I believe—along with most of the nation’s leading constitutional scholars—that Congress has no power to enact it by simple statute, but rather it requires a constitutional amendment.”
How long did it take for the 26th amendment to be ratified?
The 26th Amendment was incorporated into the Constitution just three months and eight days after Congress sent it to the states for ratification, thus making it the quickest amendment to be ratified. 1 Today, it stands as one of several laws protecting the right to vote . The 26th Amendment. U.S. National Archives.
What is the voting age for all states?
With so many young men and women being sent to war—but still denied the right to vote—more states began to demand a constitutional amendment establishing a uniform national voting age of 18 for all elections in all states. The time for the 26th Amendment had come at last.
What was the purpose of the 1960s demonstrations?
During the late 1960s, demonstrations against America’s long and costly involvement in the Vietnam War began to bring the hypocrisy of drafting 18-year-olds while denying them the right to vote to the attention of Congress.
When did Georgia drop the voting age?
In 1943, Georgia became the first state to drop its minimum voting age in state and local elections from 21 to 18. 2 . However, the minimum voting age remained at 21 in most states until the 1950s, when WWII hero and President Dwight D. Eisenhower threw his support behind lowering it.
When is the 26th amendment?
The 26th Amendment. June 17, 2021. Dear Educators, The Education and Public Programs Team at the Nixon Library is pleased to remind you that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) continues to be an excellent source for entertaining and historical content!
What amendment lowers the voting age?
The 26th Amendment. Ratified in July 1971, the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution lowered the voting age of U.S. citizens from 21 to 18 years old.
When did the voting age go down?
In April 1970 , as part of legislation to extend the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Congress controversially lowered the voting age to 18. Although personally supportive of the issue, President Nixon felt it was the right of the states and not the federal government to set the voting age.
When was the 26th amendment ratified?
The state legislatures in Ohio and North Carolina were the last to approve the amendment before official ratification took effect on July 1, 1971. With the 1972 elections looming, the 26th Amendment was ratified in record time. The Richard M. Nixon administration certified it four days later on July 5.
What amendment was passed to lower the voting age?
On this date, the 26th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. In the turmoil surrounding the unpopular Vietnam War, lowering the national voting age became a controversial topic. Responding to arguments that those old enough to be drafted for military service, should be able to exercise the right to vote, Congress lowered ...
When was the voting age lowered to 18?
Endorsed by Speaker Carl Albert of Oklahoma, the amendment passed the House by a vote of 401 to 19, on March 23, 1971 .
When was the 26th amendment ratified?
When the 26th amendment was ratified on July 1, 1971, America was at war with Vietnam. Throughout US history, when necessary -- such as during World War II and the Vietnam Wa r -- 18-year-olds were drafted for military conscription. Those in favor of lowering the voting age argued that if 18-year-olds could serve their country at war, ...
Why is Carrion's right to vote at 18?
Carrion's right to vote at age 18 comes because of the 26th amendment, which marks its 50th anniversary on Thurs day.
What percentage of voters will be millennials in 2024?
The nonpartisan States of Change project -- which studies voting trends and demographic change -- projects that in 2024 millennials and Generation Z -- for the first time will represent a much larger share of eligible voters (nearly 45% ). By 2028, millennials and Generation Z will make up almost exactly half of eligible voters, and those born before 1964 will fall below a third of voters.
How many young people voted in 2020?
In 2020, half of young people ages 18-29 voted, according to research from Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning ...
Where did the 2018 ballots take place?
Voters cast their ballots at a Masonic Lodge on June 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (CNN) Nicolette Carrion did a little dance when she cast her first ballot ever in last year's election. "Now that I'm 18, I'm able to invest in my future in being able to vote, in a way I wasn't able to before," she said.
Who is the executive director of Rock the Vote?
For her part, Carolyn DeWitt, executive director of Rock the Vote, the longstanding nonpartisan voter registration organization, believes that what she called the "distinctly diverse generations, millennials and Gen Z," are exceptionally engaged.
Should 18 year olds vote for the commander in chief?
Those in favor of lowering the voting age argued that if 18- year-olds could serve their country at war, they should be able to vote for the commander-in-chief. "Part of the push to adopt the 26th amendment was the ongoing protest movements of the Vietnam War.
What is the 26th amendment?
For most of its almost 50-year history, the 26th Amendment has been understood as giving 18- to 21-year-olds the right to vote. But like the 15th and 19th amendments, the 26th does more than merely extend the formal right to vote. It also prevents the state from imposing discriminatory burdens on voting rights.
When was the 26th amendment passed?
Passed and ratified in 1971, the 26th Amendment culminated a multifaceted campaign for youth voting rights in the United States. Over a 30-year period from World War II to the early 1970s, Americans old and young, Democrat and Republican, built momentum and then a movement for the 26th Amendment.
What are the barriers to voting for young people?
The hurdles for young voters are many. Residency requirements, strict voter ID laws and inaccessible polling places affect voters of all ages, but they particularly abridge youth voting rights. College students living and studying away from their family homes have to establish residency in their new locations to register to vote. Many states have prohibited the use of student ID cards for voter identification, requiring in-state drivers’ licenses. These and other policies burden the rights of young voters.
Which amendment prohibits age discrimination in voting rights?
This is difficult, given voter suppression laws. But legal challenges continue in Missouri and Alaska, and arguments based on the 26th Amendment have the potential to counteract these laws for voters of all ages. After all, the wording of the amendment prohibits age discrimination in voting rights broadly and could benefit a range of age groups affected by voter suppression, as with 18- to 64-year-old Texans in the recent case.
What are the hurdles for young voters?
The hurdles for young voters are many . Residency requirements, strict voter ID laws and inaccessible polling places affect voters of all ages, but they particularly abridge youth voting rights. College students living and studying away from their family homes have to establish residency in their new locations to register to vote.
Why are youth voting rights important?
Their enfranchisement would strengthen democracy in the United States by allowing more citizens to participate in politics and elections. And most influentially: During World War II, the draft age for military service dropped to 18, yet voting remained a right gained only at 21. The rallying cry “old enough to fight, old enough to vote” grew louder with the Korean War and louder still with the more controversial Vietnam War.
What is the injunction for mail in ballots?
A trial judge issued an injunction requiring that the state permit all voters, regardless of age, to use mail-in ballots. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit stayed this injunction pending an appeal, and the Supreme Court declined to step in, despite Justice Sonia Sotomayor noting that it “raises weighty but seemingly novel questions regarding the Twenty-Sixth Amendment.”
When did the 26th amendment go into effect?
Nixon, nevertheless, signed the Act which was to go into effect January 1, 1971. On December 21, 1970 the Supreme Court ruled that the government had indeed overstepped its legislative bounds in lowering the voting age. Fearing mass confusion over who could vote in the 1972 election, Congress quickly passed legislation proposing the 26th Amendment.
How long did it take for the 26th amendment to be ratified?
It was ratified by the states in 100 days , faster than any other Amendment. Print Full Activity.
Who jotted the notes for the 26th amendment?
President Richard Nixon jotted these notes for his remarks at the 26th Amendment Ceremony. Even though the handwriting can be difficult to read, examining this very personal document gives special insight into President Nixon's thoughts on the amendment and the youth vote.
When did the voting age go down?
In April 1970 , Congress controversially lowered the voting age to 18 as part of legislation to extend the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Many people, including President Nixon, believed that it was the right of the states, not the Federal Government, to set the voting age.
