"What is preventing American's youngest voters from turning out? While voter enthusiasm is certainly key, systemic mechanisms uniquely hold this constitutionally protected class of voters at bay. In Montana, when the state Supreme Court struck down a 2024 voter suppression law that eliminated same-day registration, banned the use of student identification cards for voting, and prevented those recently turned 18 years old from access to vote-by-mail, the legislature was undeterred, passing a new law requiring aspiring student"
"Since the passage of the 26th Amendment, the overall trend is that youth voting rates have lagged compared with every other age cohort. Compare the 18-24 voter turnout in 2024 (47.7 percent) with the 65+ group (74.7 percent)-a margin of 27 points. The widespread voting disparities between the youngest and eldest age groups is a pattern, not an anomaly: The margin was greater in 1982, when the last class of baby boomers first came out to vote."
The 26th Amendment, ratified 55 years ago, lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 but left many of its goals unmet. The November 2025 results showed heightened youth engagement in places like California, New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, and strong youth support for measures against partisan gerrymandering. Despite periodic surges, long-term youth turnout lags behind older cohorts, exemplified by 2024 turnout of 47.7 percent for ages 18–24 versus 74.7 percent for ages 65+. Systemic obstacles and targeted state measures continue to suppress or complicate youth participation.
Read at The Nation
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