Answer:
It gave teenagers eighteen and older the right to vote in all elections, both state and national.
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment states, "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." It is regarded as the Vietnam War amendment. Proponents argued that, if boys 18-20 could die for their country, they should have a right to vote in all its elections.
Under the Constitution, state election laws determine voter qualifications. Many states mandated voters be at least twenty-one. Historically, teenagers were regarded as lacking sufficient maturity to participate in the political process.
In 1970, Congress amended the Voting Rights Act to lower the voting age to eighteen. Oregon sued to declare the law unconstitutional as an infringement on states' rights. In Oregon v. Mitchell, 400 U.S. 112 (1970), eight Supreme Court justices split 4-4 on whether Congress had the power to fix the voting age in any election. One 5–4 majority held that Congress could fix the voting age for federal elections, but a different 5–4 majority held that Congress lacked the power to fix the voting age for state and local elections. Needless to say, this muddied the constitutional waters for some time.
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment was enacted to overturn the fractured Supreme Court ruling in Oregon v. Mitchell.
Interestingly, new neuroscience research about adolescent brains and the psychological development of 18–21 year olds has inspired some to call for a repeal of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment. The argument is that adolescents lack the judgment to cast an informed vote. This begs the question whether ill educated older voters cast informed votes.
The salutary effect of theTwenty-Sixth Amendment is that, by empowering adolescents to vote in all elections, it gives them a stake in the political process. Young people bear the consequences of actions taken by elected leaders longer than older citizens. The advent of computer technology and the Internet means everyone, especially adolescents adept at social media, have instantaneous access to information enabling them to make informed political choices.