Which amendment lowered the voting age to 18?

Which amendment lowered the voting age to 18?

• A. Twenty-Second Amendment
• B. Twenty-Third Amendment
• C. Twenty-Fifth Amendment
• D. Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Answer: (D)

Lowering the voting age to 18 tests how we define who can participate in elections. The amendment that lowered the voting age to 18 ensures that any citizen who is at least 18 cannot be denied the right to vote in federal or state elections because of their age. This change was ratified in 1971, driven in part by the idea that if 18-year-olds could be drafted for military service, they should also have a voice in choosing their leaders. It effectively sets the uniform minimum voting age at 18.

Other amendments address different issues: one restricts presidents to two terms, another grants Washington, D.C. electoral votes for president, and another deals with presidential succession and disability. These do not alter the age at which people can vote, so they don’t answer questions about voting eligibility.