Certification of the 26th Amendment
7/5/1971
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The 26th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified on July 1, 1971, lowered the voting age to 18. This document shows the certification of the amendment by General Services Administrator Robert Kunzig on July 5th.
In a ceremony at the White House, President Richard M. Nixon also signed as a witness. President Nixon’s signature was unnecessary to ratify the 26th Amendment because the Constitution does not give the President a role in passing amendments. But Nixon ceremoniously signed it anyway, and he took the unprecedented step of inviting three 18-year-olds to also sign the new amendment.
In a ceremony at the White House, President Richard M. Nixon also signed as a witness. President Nixon’s signature was unnecessary to ratify the 26th Amendment because the Constitution does not give the President a role in passing amendments. But Nixon ceremoniously signed it anyway, and he took the unprecedented step of inviting three 18-year-olds to also sign the new amendment.
This primary source comes from the General Records of the United States Government.
National Archives Identifier: 1636091
Full Citation: Certification of the 26th Amendment; 7/5/1971; Ratified Amendments, 1795 - 1992; General Records of the United States Government, Record Group 11; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/certification-26th-amendment, April 19, 2025]Activities that use this document
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