The
Twenty-sixth Amendment (
Amendment XXVI) to the
United States ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
standardized the voting age to 18. It was adopted in response to
student activismStudent activism is work done by students to effect political, environmental, economic, or social change. It has often focused on making changes in schools, such as increasing student influence over curriculum or improving educational funding...
against the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
and to partially overrule the
Supreme Court'sThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
decision in
Oregon v. MitchellOregon v. Mitchell, 400 U.S. 112 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that states could set their own age limits for state elections....
. It was adopted on July 1, 1971.
Text
Background
In his 1954
State of the Union addressThe State of the Union is an annual address presented before by the President of the United States to the United States Congress. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda and national priorities to Congress...
, President Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first president to publicly state his support for prohibiting age-based denials of
suffrageSuffrage is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. It is also called political franchise or simply the franchise. Suffrage may apply to elections, but also extends to initiatives and referendums...
for those 18 and older.
On June 22, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed a law (not a constitutional amendment) which required the voting age to be 18 in all federal, state and local elections. In his statement on signing the extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Nixon stated: Subsequently
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
challenged the law in court. In
Oregon v. MitchellOregon v. Mitchell, 400 U.S. 112 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that states could set their own age limits for state elections....
, , the Supreme Court declared
unconstitutionalConstitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or guidelines set forth in the applicable constitution. When one of these directly violates the constitution it is unconstitutional...
the parts of the law which required states to register 18-year-olds for state and local elections. Justice
Hugo BlackHugo LaFayette Black was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party, Black represented the state of Alabama in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1937, and served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1937 to 1971. Black was nominated to...
stated: By this time, four states had a minimum voting age below 21.
Congress and the state legislatures felt increasing pressure to pass the Constitutional amendment because of the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
, in which many young men who were ineligible to vote were
conscriptedConscription is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by an established authority. It is most often used in the specific sense of requiring citizens to serve in the armed forces...
to fight in the war. "Old enough to fight, old enough to vote," was a common slogan used by proponents of lowering the voting age. The slogan traced its roots to
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, when President
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
lowered the military draft age to eighteen.
On March 10, 1971, the
SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
voted 94-0 in favor of proposing a Constitutional amendment to guarantee that the voting age could not be higher than 18. On March 23, 1971, the
House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
voted 401-19 in favor of the proposed amendment. Within months the resolution was ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures, faster than any other amendment. On July 5, 1971, during the amendment's signing ceremony in the
East Room| |-| |-| |-| |-|-| |}The East Room is the largest room in the White House, the home of the President of the United States. It is used for entertaining, press conferences, ceremonies, and occasionally for a large dinner...
, President
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
talked about his confidence in the youth of America.
Proposal and ratification
The Congress proposed the Twenty-sixth Amendment on March 23, 1971 and the following states ratified the amendment:
- Connecticut (March 23, 1971)
- Delaware (March 23, 1971)
- Minnesota (March 23, 1971)
- Tennessee (March 23, 1971)
- Washington (March 23, 1971)
- Hawaii (March 24, 1971)
- Massachusetts (March 24, 1971)
- Montana (March 29, 1971)
- Arkansas (March 30, 1971)
- Idaho (March 30, 1971)
- Iowa (March 30, 1971)
- Nebraska (April 2, 1971)
- New Jersey (April 3, 1971)
- Kansas (April 7, 1971)
- Michigan (April 7, 1971)
- Alaska (April 8, 1971)
- Maryland (April 8, 1971)
- Indiana (April 8, 1971)
- Maine (April 9, 1971)
- Vermont (April 16, 1971)
- Louisiana (April 17, 1971)
- California (April 19, 1971)
- Colorado (April 27, 1971)
- Pennsylvania (April 27, 1971)
- Texas (April 27, 1971)
- South Carolina (April 28, 1971)
- West Virginia (April 28, 1971)
- New Hampshire (May 13, 1971)
- Arizona (May 14, 1971)
- Rhode Island (May 27, 1971)
- New York (June 2, 1971)
- Oregon (June 4, 1971)
- Missouri (June 14, 1971)
- Wisconsin (June 22, 1971)
- Illinois (June 29, 1971)
- Alabama (June 30, 1971)
- Ohio (June 30, 1971)
- North Carolina (July 1, 1971)
- Oklahoma (July 1, 1971)
After its adoption, three more states voted to ratify the amendment:
- Virginia (July 8, 1971)
- Wyoming (July 8, 1971)
- Georgia (October 4, 1971)
The following states have not ratified the amendment:
- Florida
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Utah
On July 7, 1971, the
Administrator of General ServicesThe General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
officially certified the adoption of the Twenty-sixth Amendment.
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