45 Years Ago, Americans As Young As 18 Gained The Right To Vote

The voting age was lowered to 18 from 21 across the United States 45 years ago this week with the ratification of the 26th Amendment.

The final push leading to the amendment began during the Vietnam War. Many Americans argued that it wasn’t right to allow men as young as 18 to be drafted, yet deny them the right to vote.

Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1970 and President Richard Nixon signed it, but the law was quickly brought before the Supreme Court. The court ruled that the law applied only to federal elections, not state and local ones. A constitutional amendment would be required to guarantee voting rights across the board for people as young as 18.

So Congress passed the 26th Amendment. In accordance with the Constitution, three-fourths of the states, or 38, needed to approve the amendment for it to be ratified. Alabama, Ohio and North Carolina all voted to approve ratification on June 30. When North Carolina's approval process was completed on July 1, 1971, it became the 38th state to approve the amendment, which then officially went into effect, said Christine Blackerby, co-curator of the "Amending America" exhibit at the National Archives Museum.

Administrator of General Services Robert L. Kunzig certified the official notice of the amendment's ratification on July 5, Blackerby said. Although the president’s signature is not required for a constitutional amendment, some presidents have chosen to sign a document related to an amendment. During the certification ceremony, Nixon and three 18-year-olds signed the document.

As November's elections approach, we'd like to hear from you about what it means to be an 18-year-old who's able to vote for the first time. Record a short video about it, such as those seen below, and share it publicly on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #18AndVoting.

Here are a couple of voters we have heard from so far:

Also on HuffPost: