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Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium / University of Washington

Mapping American Social Movements Project

Socialist Party Communist Party Unemployed protests 1930s Radical 3rd party votes Civil Rights Congress
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Introduction - woman suffrage movements Woman Suffrage legislation by year National Womans Party Teaching Woman Suffrage National Organization for Women (NOW) 1966-1984
Introduction- New Left Antiwar protests map 1970 student strike SDS Draft resistance Underground newspapers GI antiwar newspapers 18-year-old vote campaign
Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) Earth First! 2006 Immigrant Rights protests Unemployed protests 1930s Radical 3rd party votes Labor and Radical press Anarchist Newspapers Socialist newspapers Labor press 1925 18-year-old vote campaign Lesson plans

State laws and campaigns 1867-1970

Introduction Campaign for state laws Campaign for constitutional amendment Ratification state by state

by Jennifer Frost

Collage celebrates the 50th anniversary of 26th Amendment (courtesy Washington Secretary of State)

The United States Constitution grants the states the power to set qualifications for voters in their states, qualifications which extend to voting in federal elections. Article I, Section 2 states: “The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature.” As a result, much of the action and early success on youth voting rights occurred at the state and territorial level. The precise processes for changing state constitutions varied across the states and territories, but included some combination of constitutional convention, legislation, and voter referendum. This variety meant proponents of youth suffrage in government and at the grassroots used a variety of strategies. Legislative proposals, citizen petitions, lobbying, popular initiatives, litigation, and referendum campaigns were pursued by individuals, groups, and organizations. Support came old and young Americans and from politicians and citizens in both the Democratic and Republican parties. Students and young adults participated in early youth suffrage efforts in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s, they started organizations and launched campaigns, and, by 1969, they had built a youth franchise movement. The first state to adopt the 18-year-old vote was Georgia in 1943, and the last was Nevada in 1971 (which passed while ratification for the 26th Amendment was happening). The maps are hosted by Tableau Public and may take a few seconds to respond. If slow, refresh the page.

Move between map and timeline (best on laptop or larger screen)

 

Here are additional 26th Amendment maps

Research and data compilation: Jennifer Frost

Maps: James Gregory

Sources: Notable state and federal actions on youth suffrage compiled from Legislative History of the Constitutional Amendment Lowering the Voting Age to Eighteen: 26th Amendment, 1971; Jennifer Frost, “Let Us Vote!” Youth Voting Rights and the 26th Amendment (New York: New York University Press, 2021; Jenny Diamond Cheng, “Uncovering the Twenty-Sixth Amendment,” PhD dissertation, University of Michigan, 2008); Wendell W. Cultice, Youth’s Battle for the Ballot: A History of the Voting Age in America (Westport: Greenwood, 1992); Ballotpedia. Note: due to volume of state and federal actions on youth suffrage, project maps and timelines are not comprehensive.

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Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium, University of Washington