Question

With the ratification of the 26th amendment in 1971, the right to vote was extended to citizens between the ages of 18 and 20. what effect did this amendment have on overall rates of voter turnout in the united states?

Answer 1

On the whole the effect of the 26th amendment on voter turnout has been mixed. Youth turnout was very high in 1972, the first general election in which the amendment was in effect, but declined afterward, hitting a low of 36% in 1988. In general, the youth vote has only turned out at a high rate when issues of particular concern to youth are central to the nation's agenda. The two highest turnouts of young voters on record occurred in 1972, when the Vietnam War and the draft were very much of concern to young voters, and 2008, when young voters enthusiastically turned out to elect the nation's first African American president.