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The 26th Amendment to the United States of America does not allow the states and the federal government from using age as an excuse to deny the basic right to vote to the citizens of United States of America. This law is specially designed to allow all those citizens to vote who are 18 years old. This proposal was presented in the parliament by Congress on 23 March 1971, and later it was ratified on 1st July 1971. In the entire history of the United States of America, this is considered as the fastest ratification that was ever done. During the mid 20th century there were various attempts by the political parties to lower the limit of voting age, but somehow they were unable to obtain the legislative momentum which was significant for this amendment. The movement for reducing the age of voting from 21 to 18 years grew across the country during the 1960s which was driven in the country during the Vietnam War as well as the student activist movement.
After the approval of this law an individual when turns 18 then he is able to vote in all elections, be it state elections or federal elections. The 26th amendment is similar to the 15th amendment, which was designed in a way that prohibits the youngsters who were less than 18 years old were prohibited from voting (National Constitution Center – The 26th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, 2019). Although there were courts who doubted the decision but eventually this bill was accepted in the parliament with a majority of votes. Along with allowing to vote the youngsters who were 18 years old, this specific law also allowed the youngsters to choose their residence without any specific restrictions. After the approval of this law, courts reaffirmed that students who move to hostels in order to complete their education can register their votes. The 26th amendments only protect the voting rights of the youngsters; it does not address other problems that are faced by the youngsters.
Although in the United States of America some states allow the individuals who are 18 years old but there are some states where it is still prohibited for such age groups to vote. These states argue that the youngsters are not still capable of understanding the importance of the vote and still, they are quite immature to consider such a big decision. These states argue that these youngsters are not interested in such an affair because they are supposed to pay the taxes or live on their own at the age of 16. At such a tender age, they don't even know their responsibility towards the state or the importance of voting. It is also proved scientifically that the age is still under the process of development even in the mid-20s. The ability to logical reasoning and to look at the real image is missing at this tender age. Therefore, by allowing such youngsters to vote is like real damage to the state because they may vote and choose someone who is the real damage to the country. Therefore according to the state, youngsters at such a tender age should not be allowed to vote (HISTORY, 2019).
Although this topic is quite debatable because the points that supports and are against the law are the same but in order to make the youngsters more aware and responsible, they should be allowed to vote in all states because only then they will be able to understand the politics of their country, they will know the politics and the views of the political leaders. Once they examine all this closely, then they will be able to choose the representative who is best for their country and whose idea supports the real ideology of the country. When this law was allowed then it was argued that youngsters who are at the age of 17 are allowed to fight the war in Vietnam but how come they are not allowed to vote, which is a strong point to allow the people who are the age of 18. But still, the law is not uniform for all states if this is allowed in one state then in other states, such youngsters are not allowed to vote. This is a bit unfair for them so the state should consider the matter seriously and then it should make the law uniform by allowing all the individuals who are 17 years old to vote (History.house.gov, 2019). By doing so, they will also be able to win the confidence of the youngsters. Having said that it is also important to discuss that such decisions should be taken by the state because the state is run by intellectuals and by personalities who are quite sincere to the country. In the majority of the cases whatever, they decide is in favor of the country so they should not be pressurized and whatever they decide should be accepted with an open heart. Only then both the state and citizens will move forward as responsible individuals, and only then it will be possible for a country to progress.
Work Cited
National Constitution Center – The 26th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. (2019). The 26th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. [online] Available at: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendments/amendment-xxvi [Accessed 24 Feb. 2019].
HISTORY. (2019). The 26th Amendment. [online] Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/the-26th-amendment [Accessed 24 Feb. 2019].
Law.tamu.libguides.com. (2019). Research Guides: The United States Constitution: Constitutional Amendments: Amendments 11-27. [online] Available at: http://law.tamu.libguides.com/c.php?g=513904&p=3510977 [Accessed 24 Feb. 2019].
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