<P> The Twenty - sixth Amendment ( Amendment XXVI ) to the United States Constitution prohibits the states and the federal government from using age as a reason for denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States who are at least eighteen years old . The drive to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 grew across the country during the 1960s , driven in large part by the broader student activism movement protesting the Vietnam War . The impetus for drafting an amendment to lower the voting age arose following the Supreme Court 's decision in Oregon v. Mitchell , 400 U.S. 112 ( 1970 ) , which held that Congress may establish a voting age for federal elections , but not for local or state elections . </P>
<P> The Twenty - sixth Amendment ( Amendment XXVI ) to the United States Constitution prohibits the states and the federal government from using age as a reason for denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States who are at least eighteen years old . The drive to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 grew across the country during the 1960s , driven in large part by the broader student activism movement protesting the Vietnam War . The impetus for drafting an amendment to lower the voting age arose following the Supreme Court 's decision in Oregon v. Mitchell , 400 U.S. 112 ( 1970 ) , which held that Congress may establish a voting age for federal elections , but not for local or state elections . </P>
what is the legal voting age in the us
what is the legal voting age in the us
eighteen years old
eighteen years old