Amendment, Twenty-Sixth

Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1971, that extends the voting age in national and state elections to US citizens 18-years-old and older.

Passed during the Vietnam War, this amendment was drafted in response to the widely-held conviction that people who are old enough to be drafted to fight and die for their country should be old enough to vote for their leaders. Previously, the vote was only guaranteed to people aged 21 and over.