John

= //// = Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution(XXVI)  =

//Section 1.// //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 2.** The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.//

In 1965, Barry McGuire's song "Eve of Destruction" had a special poignancy as young men died in Vietnam: "You're old enough to kill, but not for voting." In one of the nation's most turbulent decades, a growing sentiment arose for extending the voting franchise to 18-year-olds.In 1970, Congress did just that, by changing the voting age when it extended the Civil Rights Act of 1965. Federal courts quickly ruled that the new voting age could only apply to elections for federal office. Reaction from the states was just as quick. A constitutional amendment was quickly passed putting the voting age for all elections at 18. In 1972, the first year they were eligible, only half of 18, 19 and 20-year-olds bothered, surprising those who campaigned for the right. The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention. Since the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, the joint resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval.A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 of 50 States). When the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large and serves as official notice to the Congress and to the Nation that the amendment process has been completed. The Congress proposed the Twenty-sixth Amendment on March 23, 1971 and the following states ratified the amendment: After its adoption, four more states voted to ratify the amendment: The following states have not ratified the amendment:
 * The Ratification Process **
 * 1) Connecticut (March 23, 1971)
 * 2) Delaware (March 23, 1971)
 * 3) Minnesota (March 23, 1971)
 * 4) Tennessee (March 23, 1971)
 * 5) Washington (March 23, 1971)
 * 6) Hawaii (March 24, 1971)
 * 7) Massachusetts (March 24, 1971)
 * 8) Montana (March 29, 1971)
 * 9) Arkansas (March 30, 1971)
 * 10) Idaho (March 30, 1971)
 * 11) Iowa (March 30, 1971)
 * 12) Nebraska (April 2, 1971)
 * 13) New Jersey (April 3, 1971)
 * 14) Kansas (April 7, 1971)
 * 15) Michigan (April 7, 1971)
 * 16) Alaska (April 8, 1971)
 * 17) Maryland (April 8, 1971)
 * 18) Indiana (April 8, 1971)
 * 19) Maine (April 9, 1971)
 * 20) Vermont (April 16, 1971)
 * 21) Louisiana (April 17, 1971)
 * 22) California (April 19, 1971)
 * 23) Colorado (April 27, 1971)
 * 24) Pennsylvania (April 27, 1971)
 * 25) Texas (April 27, 1971)
 * 26) South Carolina (April 28, 1971)
 * 27) West Virginia (April 28, 1971)
 * 28) New Hampshire (May 13, 1971)
 * 29) Arizona (May 14, 1971)
 * 30) Rhode Island (May 27, 1971)
 * 31) New York (June 2, 1971)
 * 32) Oregon (June 4, 1971)
 * 33) Missouri (June 14, 1971)
 * 34) Wisconsin (June 22, 1971)
 * 35) Illinois (June 29, 1971)
 * 36) Alabama (June 30, 1971)
 * 37) Ohio (June 30, 1971)
 * 38) North Carolina (July 1, 1971)
 * 1) Oklahoma (July 1, 1971)
 * 2) Virginia (July 8, 1971)
 * 3) Wyoming (July 8, 1971)
 * 4) Georgia (October 4, 1971)
 * 1) Florida
 * 2) Kentucky
 * 3) Mississippi
 * 4) Nevada
 * 5) New Mexico
 * 6) North Dakota
 * 7) South Dakota
 * 8) Utah

//The **Twenty-sixth Amendment** was proposed on March 23, 1971, and ratified on July 1, 1971. The ratification period of 107 days was the shortest in U.S. history.//    //The U.S. Supreme Court, however, declared part of this measure unconstitutional in **Oregon v. Mitchell** in 1970.//

Voters 18 to 24 were the only age group to show a statistically significant increase in turnout, reaching 49 percent in 2008 compared with 47 percent in 2004.

population ||~ Voter registration ||~ Voter turnout ||~ Turnout of voting-age population (percent) ||
 * ~ Year ||~ Voting-age
 * **2008*** || **231,229,580** || **NA** || **132,618,580*** || **56.8%** ||
 * 2006 || 220,600,000 || 135,889,600 || 80,588,000 || 37.1% ||
 * **2004** || **221,256,931** || **174,800,000** || **122,294,978** || **55.3** ||
 * 2002 || 215,473,000 || 150,990,598 || 79,830,119 || 37.0 ||
 * **2000** || **205,815,000** || **156,421,311** || **105,586,274** || **51.3** ||
 * 1998 || 200,929,000 || 141,850,558 || 73,117,022 || 36.4 ||
 * **1996** || **196,511,000** || **146,211,960** || **96,456,345** || **49.1** ||
 * 1994 || 193,650,000 || 130,292,822 || 75,105,860 || 38.8 ||
 * **1992** || **189,529,000** || **133,821,178** || **104,405,155** || **55.1** ||
 * 1990 || 185,812,000 || 121,105,630 || 67,859,189 || 36.5 ||
 * **1988** || **182,778,000** || **126,379,628** || **91,594,693** || **50.1** ||
 * 1986 || 178,566,000 || 118,399,984 || 64,991,128 || 36.4 ||
 * **1984** || **174,466,000** || **124,150,614** || **92,652,680** || **53.1** ||
 * 1982 || 169,938,000 || 110,671,225 || 67,615,576 || 39.8 ||
 * **1980** || **164,597,000** || **113,043,734** || **86,515,221** || **52.6** ||
 * 1978 || 158,373,000 || 103,291,265 || 58,917,938 || 37.2 ||
 * **1976** || **152,309,190** || **105,037,986** || **81,555,789** || **53.6** ||
 * 1974 || 146,336,000 || 96,199,020 1 || 55,943,834 || 38.2 ||
 * **1972** || **140,776,000** || **97,328,541** || **77,718,554** || **55.2** ||
 * 1970 || 124,498,000 || 82,496,747 2 || 58,014,338 || 46.6 ||
 * **1968** || **120,328,186** || **81,658,180** || **73,211,875** || **60.8** ||
 * 1966 || 116,132,000 || 76,288,283 3 || 56,188,046 || 48.4 ||
 * **1964** || **114,090,000** || **73,715,818** || **70,644,592** || **61.9** ||
 * 1962 || 112,423,000 || 65,393,751 4 || 53,141,227 || 47.3 ||
 * **1960** || **109,159,000** || **64,833,096 5 ** || **68,838,204** || **63.1** ||
 * The Bold is Presidential Elections **