Should 16 Year Olds Have the Right to Vote in Federal Elections? (H. Joint Res. 138)

What is H. Joint Res. 138?

(Updated August 21, 2019)

This resolution would propose an amendment to the Constitution that’d lower the voting age to citizens 16 years of age in federal elections. It’d repeal the 26th Amendment, which sets the voting age at 18. This bill would also require states to ratify it within seven years after it’s submitted for ratification.

Because it proposes a constitutional amendment, after this resolution’s passage by two-thirds of both chambers of Congress it would have to be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures (38 states) to amend the U.S. Constitution.

Argument in favor

This generation of young people is more educated and connected with the world than their predecessors, and can be trusted to make educated choices with their votes. They should have the right to vote two years sooner once they turn 16.

Argument opposed

The right to vote should be something that citizens obtain once they’re adults at age 18. If the voting age is going to be lowered, so should age of adulthood in the criminal justice system and the eligibility age for military service.

Impact

16 and 17 +year olds; the electorate; and election officials.

Cost of H. Joint Res. 138

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) proposed this constitutional amendment to lower the voting age to 16 for federal elections, building on a movement that has seen some cities and states extend voting rights to 16 year olds in local elections. Among the states that have proposed lowering the voting age include Arizona, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Michigan — while actions taken by the D.C. city council could allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote in presidential elections.

Critics like David Davenport, a research fellow in politics and law at the Hoover Institution, worry that 16 year olds may get excited about individual issues while lacking the political knowledge to be effective voters overall:

“My concern is if 16-year-olds were allowed to vote on any kind of broad scale, what we’d actually be doing is bringing the least politically informed, the least politically experienced, the least mature in terms of making long-term judgments and trade-offs, directly into and potentially affecting our voter turnout and results.”

Media:

• NBC (Context)