Stoneage Ramblings

By John R. Stone

People in their late teens today may not realize that up until 1971 a person had to be 21 years old to vote in a presidential election.

It was the 26th Amendment that changed that. It read: “The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of age.”

It was ratified on July 1, 1971 and it was the second most recent amendment to be ratified by three fourths of the states and therefore take effect.

The amendment was really pushed along by the war in Vietnam. A person could be drafted into the military at age 18 and serve in a war zone like Vietnam. Although a person could be required to potentially die for his or her country, that person could not vote for (or against) the people who sent them there.

Kind of seems like a no brainer today, doesn’t it?

The first year I was eligible to vote in a presidential election was 1968. The irony of the situation was very real to me. I was 23. But I was already in the Army and in the process of being shipped overseas.

In those days there wasn’t a really good system for soldiers to vote anyway. The Army was most interested in getting your body where it thought it was needed. In September of that year I was on my way to Germany. I didn’t have an address for a few weeks and therefore no way to apply for an absentee ballot.

Phone service back then overseas was not great and very expensive. Military mail service was not very fast. So I gave up on voting for my first election.

The 26th Amendment got a greater and greater push during the war largely from young draftees and was passed before the war was over.

The next amendment to be ratified (it doesn’t happen very often) was the 27th Amendment. That amendment dealt with Congressional pay raises and basically said that Congress could give itself a raise but it wouldn’t take effect until after the next election. It was ratified May 7, 1992.

But you may be surprised that it was first proposed as an amendment to the Constitution Sept. 15, 1795!

One 28th Amendment candidate is the Equal Rights Amendment. It has been bouncing around since 1972. Over the years it has been approved by the required three fourths of states. However, it was not approved by the required number of states within the time limit set in the Constitution.

As late as last year Congress was asked to waive the time limit but the measure failed in the U.S. Senate.

Now there are other proposals for amendments that could be the 28th. One is a proposal in California to give states the right to pass laws limiting gun ownership. Another is one that would prohibit Congress from passing any law affecting this nation’s citizens that did not equally apply to members of Congress.

This amendment proposal has a military connection, too. Members of Congress have a better retirement program than do members of the U.S. military. A military member serving 20 years can retire and receive a retirement benefit of 50 percent of his or her pay. A member of Congress can serve a shorter required period of time and get a greater percentage of his or her pay. And they do not have to go overseas and be shot at.

There are other unratified amendments covering the size of the U.S. House, foreign titles of nobility, slavery, child labor, and representation for the District of Columbia. Some go back to 1789!

I guess the point is cherish your right to vote. If you are under 21 your grandparents couldn’t have voted at your age.