Lowering the Voting Age

In the 1960s, many young people began to notice that while those 18 and older could be sent to fight in Vietnam, they couldn't vote until they were 21 years old. 

In 1970, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1970, which lowered the voting age in both federal and state elections. The Supreme Court, however, determined that this was unconstitutional. The federal government could only set the voting age in national elections. The states could not be forced to change their own voting age. 

In response, Senator Jennings Randolph (D-WV) proposed a constitutional amendment to lower the national voting age to 18 years. The 26th Amendment sailed through Congress, and was quickly ratified by three-quarters of the states.

There are now some proposals to lower the voting age even further. 

• Do you think this is a good idea? What is the appropriate age for voting in local, state, and national elections?
• Would it be okay to have some states with a voting age of 18, and others to have a voting age lower than 18?