What is the legal voting age established in both the U.S. and Arizona Constitutions?

The legal voting age established in both the U.S. and Arizona Constitutions is eighteen years old. This standard was set by the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1971, which explicitly prohibits the government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States who are eighteen years of age or older based on age.

In Arizona, the voting age aligns with this federal standard, ensuring that individuals who are eighteen years old have the legal right to participate in elections. This change reflected the growing sentiment during the 1960s that younger citizens, especially those who could be drafted into military service, should have a say in their government and electoral processes.

Other age options, such as sixteen, twenty-one, or seventeen with parental consent, are not applicable as they either did not reflect the legal framework established at both federal and state levels or were outdated practices that have since changed.