Voting Age: Is It Time For A Change?.
When you turn eighteen years old, you acquire the legal right to vote because of what is stated in Amendment 26 of the United States Constitution. Why, some people may ask, must a person be eighteen years old in order to vote? Why can't a person vote when they turn sixteen rather than eighteen? The purpose of my paper is to examine Amendment 26 in the Constitution and change the minimum voting age from eighteen to sixteen.
Section one of Amendment 26 of the US Constitution states, "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 two states, "The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation" (Dye, 2003).
During the Vietnam War, men who were over the age of eighteen were forced to enlist in the draft. The crazy thing was that these men could go out and fight for their country, and even die for their country, but at that time did not have the right to vote. Congress planned on extending the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and give the right to vote to people eighteen years or older, in all elections, and on all levels of government. On March 23, 1971, Congress passed the eighteen year old minimum voting age, in both state and national elections. The 26th Amendment was ratified on July 1st, 1971 (Mount, 2003).
For years now, people have been coming up with valid reasons for this Amendment to be changed. One valid reason to change the voting age from eighteen to sixteen would be the financial responsibilities of young teenagers. In the US, you can get a job once you turn sixteen years old. If a person has a job, that means they have to pay government taxes and in my opinion, if you are old enough to pay taxes to the government, then you should be old enough to help make governmental decisions.