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Speak Up! - View Question #302 |
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Question: Why aren't minors allowed to vote?
Answer: The United States Constitution addresses the age issue of voting in Amendment XXVI (26th) 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.'
Minors can't vote because our Constitution, which is the higest law in the Nation, says they can't. As you can read in the 26th Amendment above, only adults age 18 and older may vote.
Before the 26th Amendment was passed in 1971, people could not vote until they were 21 years old. For more on American Voting rights, see Amendments 12, 14, 15 and 19.
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