Bill Text: NY K00367 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the passage by the United States Congress of the 26th Amendment

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2021-06-02 - adopted [K00367 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-K00367-Introduced.html

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Assembly Resolution No. 367

BY: M. of A. Walker

        CELEBRATING the 50th Anniversary of the passage by
        the  United  States  Congress of the 26th Amendment,
        providing for the voting rights of  18,  19  and  20
        year-olds, to the Constitution of the United States

  WHEREAS,  On  March  23, 1971, Congress passed the 26th Amendment to
the Constitution of the United States, guided by the  shared  ideals  of
freedom, sovereignty, democracy, civil liberties, and individual rights;
and

  WHEREAS,  Since the lowering of the draft age to 18 in World War II,
there had been repeated efforts to lower the voting age to  address  the
fact that there were young men who were old enough to fight a world war,
but not old enough to vote in the country they were fighting for; and

  WHEREAS,  On  March 10, 1971, the United States Senate voted 94-0 in
support of proposing an amendment that would lower  the  minimum  voting
age  to  18  everywhere  in  the  country, and on March 23rd, the United
States House of Representatives voted 401-19 for the amendment; and

  WHEREAS, On July 1, 1971, three-quarters of the states ratified  the
amendment,  just three months for 38 states to ratify the Amendment, the
fastest any amendment had been approved; and

  WHEREAS, The introduction, passage, and ultimate ratification of the
26th Amendment was the culmination of years  of  work  and  struggle  by
advocates for the rights of young adults across the United States; and

  WHEREAS, The ratification of the 26th Amendment ensured young adults
could  more fully participate in our democracy and fundamentally changed
the role of young adults in the civic life of our Nation; and

  WHEREAS, The 26th Amendment gave young  people  rights  to  directly
participate  in  the political process and amplified their voices in the
campaigns for civil rights, environmental protection, women's rights and
for ending the Vietnam War; and

  WHEREAS, The 50th Anniversary of Congress' ratification of the  26th
Amendment represents a historical milestone to be lauded and celebrated,
and will be observed at an event on Wednesday, June 2, 2021; in the year
1971, on June 2nd, New York as a State ratified the 26th Amendment; and

  WHEREAS,  The  26th  Amendment  provides  for  young adult suffrage,
promotes  the  core  values  of  our  democracy  as  promised   by   the
Constitution  of  the  United States, continues to strengthen democratic
participation, and inspires future generations to cherish  and  preserve
the   historic   precedent  established  under  its  ratification;  now,
therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
celebrate  the  50th  Anniversary  of  the  passage by the United States
Congress of the 26th Amendment, providing for the voting rights  of  18,
19 and 20 year-olds, to the Constitution of the United States.