"18-year-olds already have many rights and responsibilities in our society comparable to voting."
~Senator Edward Kennedy
The Voting Rights Act
In August, 1965, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which forbid "states from imposing discriminatory restrictions on who could vote" (U.S. Voting). In 1970, Nixon signed the act to extend the law, but it also had a few amendments, one which lowered the voting age to 18 in all elections. However, a few states objected that the amendment lowering the voting age was unconstitutional. (Richard)
"First, our young people today are far better equipped--intellectually, physically, and emotionally--to make the type of choices involved in voting than were past generations of youth." ~Senator Kennedy
|
"Following hearings in 1970, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts suggested that Congress might have the power to lower the voting age by statute. . . "
("History")
|
The Voting Rights Act of 1965