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).

Another one of the major reasons I think changing this Amendment would be smart is the easy way people could register to vote. If the voting age was changed to sixteen, the smartest thing to do would be to have boys or girls to register to vote at the same time they get their drivers license. Voter turnout for most elections has been diminishing over the past few years. Changing the amendment would definitely increase the amount of registered voters, and it would most likely increase voter turnout in most elections. I find this method more convenient because one of the major reasons voter turnout is so bad in many elections are because thousands of Americans all over the country aren’t even registered to vote in the first place. A lot of people are too lazy to get up and go register to vote. I would hope that if a person was given the chance to register to vote at the same time they are getting their drivers licenses, they would find it more convenient for themselves.

High schools all over the country could contribute to the political knowledge of these teenagers more than they already do. If there were political science classes that would teach these teenagers about the different candidates and what their views are, I think more people would be intrigued to get out and vote. I also believe that the earlier you start a person with something, the easier it becomes for them over time. In other words, if they start voting at a younger age, their habits will stick with them through the years which would help increase voter turnout every year. These teenagers are the future of America and the more knowledge they have about politics and elections, the better off the United States will be in the long run.

You could say another con is that no country in the European Union has a lower voting age than eighteen. Many of these countries even have their minimum age for voters set at twenty-one. I think many people would compare our country

Some topics in this essay:
Rights Act, President Clinton, European Union, Section Amendment, United Constitution, Vietnam War, voting age, Age Change, President Bush, voter turnout, Daily Record, age eighteen, voting age eighteen, minimum voting age, register vote, minimum voting, political knowledge, vote people, United American, increase voter, amendment 26, amendment 26 constitution, vote sixteen, age eighteen sixteen, lack political knowledge,