Generally speaking, to be eligible to register to vote in the United States, a person must be a citizen, resident, and ________ years old.

Generally speaking, to be eligible to register to vote in the United States, a person must be a citizen, resident, and ________ years old.

• A. 17
• B. 21
• C. 18
• D. 16

Answer: (C)

Being eligible to register to vote requires you to be a United States citizen, a resident of the state, and at least 18 years old by Election Day. The standard of 18 comes from the 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, which lowered the voting age nationwide from 21 to 18. That makes 18 the correct minimum age for registration in most cases. Some states allow 17-year-olds to register or vote in certain primaries if they will be 18 by the general election, but the general rule is 18. The other ages don’t fit the nationwide standard: 16 is too young, 17 is not enough for most elections, and 21 is an outdated threshold.

Being eligible to register to vote requires you to be a United States citizen, a resident of the state, and at least 18 years old by Election Day. The standard of 18 comes from the 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, which lowered the voting age nationwide from 21 to 18. That makes 18 the correct minimum age for registration in most cases. Some states allow 17-year-olds to register or vote in certain primaries if they will be 18 by the general election, but the general rule is 18. The other ages don’t fit the nationwide standard: 16 is too young, 17 is not enough for most elections, and 21 is an outdated threshold.