Amendment XXVI · Later Amendment
Twenty-Sixth Amendment: Voting age 18
About 10 min total: 5 min reading + 5 min for its 5 practice questions
The vote cannot be denied to citizens 18 or older because of age.
- Proposed by Congress
- March 23, 1971
- Ratified
- July 1, 1971
- Group
- Later Amendment
- Effect on the Constitution
- Modified Section 2 of the 14th Amendment.
The 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.
National Archives note: Amendment 14, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 1 of the 26th amendment.
What it means
- Citizens 18 or older may not be denied the vote because of age in federal, state, or local elections.
Who proposed it
Senator Jennings Randolph of West Virginia, who had proposed lowering the voting age many times since the 1940s, introduced S.J. Res. 7 on January 25, 1971. The Senate passed it 94–0 on March 10 and the House on March 23, 1971.
When it was proposed and ratified
- Proposed by Congress: March 23, 1971. Senate March 10, House March 23, 1971.
- Ratified: July 1, 1971. North Carolina was the 38th state. Certified July 5, 1971. It was ratified in 100 days, the fastest of any amendment.
Amendments are not signed into law. Congress proposes them by a two-thirds vote of both houses, and they become part of the Constitution when three-fourths of the states ratify. The President has no formal role (Article V).
Why it was made
During the Vietnam War, 18-year-olds could be drafted but could not vote in most states ("old enough to fight, old enough to vote"). Congress lowered the voting age to 18 by statute in 1970, but in Oregon v. Mitchell (1970) the Supreme Court held Congress could do that only for federal elections, leaving states to run two sets of voter rolls. The amendment fixed the problem for all elections.
Key Supreme Court cases
- Oregon v. Mitchell (1970): limited the 1970 voting-age law to federal elections
FCLE tips
- Fastest ratification in history.
| This | With this |
|---|---|
| 26th: age 18 | 24th: poll tax; 19th: sex; 15th: race |
Sources: National Archives (text and dates); Constitution Annotated (Congress.gov) (proposal and ratification history); U.S. Senate Historical Office and Library of Congress (sponsors).