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Old Enough To Fight Old Enough To Vote
This slogan was made to promote the constitutional amendment to give 18-year-olds the right to vote. The slogan was said by Franklin D. Roosevelt around the time of World War II. Also in Georgia, they used this statement to campaign for the movement of the 26th amendment. In 1943 Georgia became the first state to lower its voting age from 21 to 18. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower stated that “For years our citizens between the ages of 18 and 21 have, in time of peril, been summoned to fight for America. They should participate in the political process that produces this fateful summons.” Due to the war in the late 1960s, many youth voting activists held marches and protests, to gain the attention of lawmakers. Eisenhower was the first president to voice his opinion on the 26th amendment and enforced it. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
When Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it lowered the voting age to 18. It was signed into law, but President Richard M. Nixon made a public statement saying that it was unconstitutional. “Although I strongly favor the 18-year-old vote,” Nixon continued, “I believe–along with most of the Nation’s leading constitutional scholars–that Congress has no power to enact it by simple statute, but rather it requires a constitutional amendment," said Richard M. Nixon. -
Oregon v. Michigan
Supreme Court officials went back and forth on the matter of the age of the citizens and if they were of age to be responsible enough to vote. Some believed Congress did have the right in state and local elections. Finally, they came to a decision of 18 to 20-year-olds would be eligible to vote for president and vice president, but not for state officials up for election at the same time. -
U.S. Senate Vote
The U.S. Senate voted unanimously in favor of the amendment. -
House Of Representative Vote
After the House voted in favor the 26th Amendment went to the states for ratification. -
Ratification
Two months after the house vote (the shortest time ever for an amendment) the 26th Amendment was ratified. -
Richard Nixon
President Nixon signed it into law at a White House ceremony attended by 500 voters, Nixon declared: “The reason I believe that your generation, the 11 million new voters, will do so much for America at home is that you will infuse into this nation some idealism, some courage, some stamina, some high moral purpose, that this country always needs.” -
Richard Nixon Re-Elected
Richard Nixon was re-elected with 49 voting states but after that year of presidency number of younger adults voting declined. -
2008 Election
Numbers started to increase to a decent amount of 49 percent of 18-24 year olds voting. The Amendment needed time but now that it can function positively it had started to make some kind of improvement to the U.S.