400 U.S. 112 (1970)
In 1970 Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act Amendments, Pub. L. 91-285.1
By its terms the Act lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18 in both state and federal elections.2 It also barred the use of literacy tests in all elections for a five-year period based on findings of racial discrimination.3 The Act eliminated durational residency requirements while providing uniform absentee voting rules for presidential and vice-presidential elections.4
Oregon, Texas, Arizona, and Idaho resisted compliance.5 Oregon and Texas sought to enjoin the 18-year-old voting provisions.6 The United States sought orders requiring Arizona and Idaho to conform their laws to the Act.7 Arizona required voters to be 21 and to read the Constitution in English and write their names.8 Idaho imposed a 60-day state residency requirement for presidential elections along with other restrictions.9
The suits were argued on October 19, 1970.10 The record before Congress included evidence of past discriminatory use of literacy tests, statistics showing lower minority registration, and data on educational disparities from prior segregation.11 Congress also received testimony that 18-year-olds had assumed military service responsibilities and that Georgia and Kentucky had permitted younger voters without difficulty.12
The Court announced its judgments on December 21, 1970.13 Separate opinions addressed the three provisions and their application to federal versus state elections.14
Whether Congress has authority under the Constitution to lower the minimum voting age to 18 in federal elections?15
The Constitution grants Congress power under Article I, Section 4 to regulate the times, places, and manner of holding federal elections.16 This power is augmented by the Necessary and Proper Clause.17 It allows Congress to set voter qualifications for those elections, as confirmed in precedents such as Smiley v. Holm and United States v. Classic.18
Yes. The 1970 Amendments lowered the voting age to 18 in federal elections.19 Congress exercised its supervisory authority over federal elections by altering state-set qualifications.20 This action was consistent with the broad power recognized in the Constitution's text and historical practice.21 The established facts show that the Act applied to congressional, senatorial, presidential, and vice-presidential elections, and the Court upheld this exercise of power.22
Congress possesses the constitutional authority to lower the voting age to 18 for federal elections.23
Related opinions on this issue
Justice Douglas concurred in the judgments as they affect federal elections but for different reasons.24 He relied on the Equal Protection Clause and on the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.25 The grant of the franchise to 18-year-olds by Congress is in his view valid across the board.26
The right to vote is a civil right of the highest order deeply embedded in the Constitution.27 The powers granted Congress by section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to enforce the Equal Protection Clause are the same broad powers expressed in the Necessary and Proper Clause.28
Justice Harlan dissented from the upholding of the voting age provision even for federal elections.29 The Constitution reserves to the States the power to set voter qualifications in both state and federal elections.30 This allocation of power is fundamental to the federal system.31
The enforcement clauses of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments do not give Congress the authority to override the States' decisions with respect to voter qualifications unless those decisions can be shown to violate specific constitutional prohibitions.32 The evidence before Congress does not establish that a minimum voting age of 21 constitutes a violation of the Equal Protection Clause.33
Whether Congress has authority under the Constitution to lower the minimum voting age to 18 in state and local elections?34
No. The 1970 Amendments attempted to lower the voting age to 18 in state and local elections.37 Congress lacked a foundation in the enforcement clauses of the Civil War Amendments for this extension.38 No legislative findings tied the age requirement to racial discrimination.39 The established facts demonstrate that the Court severed the provision and held it unconstitutional as applied to state and local elections while preserving state authority over their own voter qualifications.40
Congress lacks the constitutional authority to lower the voting age to 18 for state and local elections.41
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Justice Stewart joined the conclusion that Congress may not lower the voting age for state and local elections.42 He wrote separately to emphasize that the decision today does not call into question the long-established principle that the States have primary authority to establish voter qualifications.43 The power granted to Congress under Article I, Section 4 is limited to the times, places, and manner of holding elections.44
It does not extend to the definition of who may vote in those elections.45 That power remains with the States, subject only to the specific limitations imposed by the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-fourth Amendments.46
Justice Harlan dissented from any upholding of the voting age provision and would have held all three provisions unconstitutional as applied to both federal and state elections. The Constitution expressly grants to the States the power to determine the qualifications of voters in both state and federal elections. This allocation of power is fundamental to our federal system.
The enforcement clauses of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments do not give Congress the authority to override the States' decisions with respect to voter qualifications unless those decisions can be shown to violate specific constitutional prohibitions. The evidence before Congress does not establish that a minimum voting age of 21 constitutes a violation of the Equal Protection Clause.
Whether Congress has authority under the Constitution to prohibit the use of literacy tests as a qualification for voting in all elections nationwide?47
Yes. The 1970 Amendments prohibited the use of literacy tests in all elections nationwide for five years.50 Congress had before it a long history of discriminatory application of such tests, statistics showing depressed minority registration, and evidence of educational inequalities from prior segregation.51 The established facts confirm that the Court upheld the literacy test ban as a valid exercise of enforcement power under the Fifteenth Amendment applicable to both state and federal elections.52
Congress has the constitutional authority to prohibit the use of literacy tests as a qualification for voting in all elections nationwide.53
Related opinions on this issue
Justice Stewart joined the opinion upholding the literacy test ban and agreed that Congress acted within its authority to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment.54 The nationwide ban addressed a national problem of racial discrimination in voting that touched every corner of the land.55 The provision did not improperly intrude on state authority over voter qualifications.56
The evidence before Congress demonstrated that literacy tests had been used to discriminate against minority voters throughout the Nation, and a uniform national solution was therefore appropriate under the enforcement power.57
Whether Congress has authority under the Constitution to abolish durational residency requirements and establish uniform absentee voting rules for presidential and vice-presidential elections?58
Yes. The 1970 Amendments abolished durational residency requirements and provided uniform absentee voting rules for presidential and vice-presidential elections.62 Congress found that such requirements burdened the right of free interstate migration and lacked a sufficient relationship to compelling state interests.63 The established facts show that the Court upheld these provisions as a permissible exercise of congressional power to facilitate the exercise of constitutional privileges in national elections.64
Congress has the constitutional authority to abolish durational residency requirements and establish uniform absentee voting rules for presidential and vice-presidential elections.65
Related opinions on this issue
Justice Harlan dissented from the residency provisions.66 The Constitution reserves voter qualification decisions to the States.67 The enforcement clauses do not authorize displacement of state judgments on these matters.68
The power to prescribe voter qualifications has historically been reserved to the States.69 Nothing in the text or history of the Reconstruction Amendments authorizes Congress to displace the States' judgment on these matters.70