Simple Civics
What is the 26th Amendment?
5/4/2022 | 2m 21sVideo has Closed Captions
Senator Birch Bayh helped pass the 26th Amendment, giving 18 year-olds the right to vote
"Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote" was the rallying cry of Americans during the Vietnam War. At the time, citizens had to be 21 years old to vote, and it didn't seem fair that young soldiers at the front lines could not have a say in the leadership that sent them there. Indiana Senator Birch Bayh helped pass the 26th Amendment in record time giving 18 year-olds the right to vote.
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Simple Civics is a local public television program presented by WFYI
Simple Civics
What is the 26th Amendment?
5/4/2022 | 2m 21sVideo has Closed Captions
"Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote" was the rallying cry of Americans during the Vietnam War. At the time, citizens had to be 21 years old to vote, and it didn't seem fair that young soldiers at the front lines could not have a say in the leadership that sent them there. Indiana Senator Birch Bayh helped pass the 26th Amendment in record time giving 18 year-olds the right to vote.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- When the US Constitution needs updating, it happens through amendments, and no one since the founding fathers has authored more constitutional amendments than Indiana's own Senator Birch Bayh.
(gentle music) Old enough to fight, old enough to vote.
The words expressed a sentiment that swept the country in the late 1960s and the early 1970s.
It was the height of the Vietnam war, and to a growing number of Americans, it didn't seem fair that when our young men turned 18 years old, they could be drafted and forced to fight, and possibly die in Vietnam, but these same young men, 18, 19, and 20 years old, couldn't participate in choosing the leaders who were sending them to fight, because they hadn't yet reached the legal voting age of 21.
In June, 1970, President Nixon signed into law an extension of the voting rights act of 1965, lowering the voting age to 18 in all federal, state, and local elections.
But in 1971, the Supreme Court ruled that this change could apply to Federal elections only.
State and local elections could not be compelled to lower their voting ages.
Anticipating the confusion and added expense required to maintain two sets of elections, one for federal offices and one for state and local offices, Congress sought further corrective action through a constitutional amendment.
The 26th amendment to the US Constitution, as written by Senator Birch Bayh, was short and to the point.
Section one, the right of citizens of the United States who are 18 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, the Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
The 26th amendment was ratified July 1st, 1971, permitting more Americans than ever before to have a say in their democracy.
(upbeat music)
Simple Civics is a local public television program presented by WFYI