March 10, 1971 - U.S. voting age lowered to 18

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - On this day, March 10, 1971, the United States Senate approved the 26th Amendment, lowering the minimum age to vote from 21 to 18.

All 94 senators voted in favor of passing the Amendment, and the House followed suit 13 days later.

Just a few months later, the 75% of state legislatures required to ratify the Amendment did so after it passed in Congress.

President Richard Nixon signed the Amendment into law in July of 1971, making this the fastest enactment of any Amendment in U.S. history.

The voting age was lowered just in time for new voters to participate in federal, state, and local elections in 1972.

One of the main reasons the voting age was lowered was because of the Vietnam War, because some of the young men being drafted were unable to vote on the politicians who were sending them to battle.

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