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 Key dates in the evolution of voting in the United States  
 
Demonstrators protest in front of White House

1971 - 26th Amendment establishes 18 as the age at which citizens have the right to vote. Impetus for this action lay in the protests against the American military engagement in Vietnam, the military draft to support that engagement and the argument that if one was old enough to fight for his country he should have a say in the country’s government. (© AP Images)