Thursday Open Line


On this date 45 years ago, the sun set on our old concept of coming of age. The 26th amendment to the Constitution became law effective July 1, lowering the age requirement for voting in national elections from 21 to 18 years old.  In 1972, the amendment added some 11 million voters to the electorate. Today, there are over 14.5 million young Americans age 18 to 20. In the last presidential election, more than 37 percent of them went to the polls, down from more than 44 percent four years earlier. In the 2014 congressional election, only some 1.6 million, or about 12 percent of the citizen youth, cast ballots. You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey, at <www.census.gov>.