How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?

How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?

• A. Sixteen years old
• B. Eighteen years old
• C. Nineteen years old
• D. Twenty-one years old

Answer: (B)

Citizens must be eighteen years old to vote for President in the United States. This age requirement is established by the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1971, which ensures that citizens who are eighteen and older cannot be denied the right to vote based solely on age. This reflects the recognition that young adults are capable of making informed decisions and that they should be afforded the responsibility of participating in the democratic process. Younger individuals, such as those who are sixteen or seventeen, do not have the legal right to vote in federal elections, emphasizing that the minimum age is set specifically at eighteen. The previous voting age of twenty-one was reduced as part of a broader movement to expand voting rights, particularly in the context of the Vietnam War when many argued that those old enough to be drafted for military service should also have the right to vote.

Citizens must be eighteen years old to vote for President in the United States. This age requirement is established by the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1971, which ensures that citizens who are eighteen and older cannot be denied the right to vote based solely on age. This reflects the recognition that young adults are capable of making informed decisions and that they should be afforded the responsibility of participating in the democratic process.

Younger individuals, such as those who are sixteen or seventeen, do not have the legal right to vote in federal elections, emphasizing that the minimum age is set specifically at eighteen. The previous voting age of twenty-one was reduced as part of a broader movement to expand voting rights, particularly in the context of the Vietnam War when many argued that those old enough to be drafted for military service should also have the right to vote.