US Constitution Series, Amendment XXVI

Amendment XXVI. Reduction of Voting Age Qualification

SEC. 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

SEC. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

The older I get, the more foolish this amendment seems.

I remember in November 2004 standing in a long line waiting to vote. A young woman voting for the first time was there. She had no idea who to vote for in any race but president. A Democratic operative deliberately and in violation of the election law solicited her vote for Democratic candidates. It was disgusting. Not only was the Democratic operative disgusting, but it was disgusting that anyone would go in to the voting booth totally clueless on the candidates who were running and for what offices. (I understand that there are often many minor candidates, but each election is important. Too many people vote simply on the name. "Brown" is a big one in Ohio. No one should get elected merely because they were born with the right last name.)

Of course, this problems is not simply about recent high school graduates from union-dominated, government schools. I cringe every time I hear some vacuous television person urge everyone to get out and vote.

No. Get out and learn about the candidates and issues. After you have worked hard and gathered enough information to have an informed vote, then and only then go vote.