Amendment XXVI
Ratified: July 1, 1971
Summary
Lowers the voting age to 18.
Full Text
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.
History and Context
The rallying cry for the Twenty-sixth Amendment was 'Old enough to fight, old enough to vote!' During the Vietnam War, thousands of young men were being drafted to fight and die for their country at the age of 18, yet they were not old enough to vote for the leaders sending them to war. This profound contradiction fueled a massive youth-led movement to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. The amendment was passed and ratified in record time—just over three months—the fastest of any amendment in U.S. history. It was a powerful affirmation of the rights of young people and a direct result of the political activism of the 1960s.