The Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has not been used.
Posted by The Jimmy Dore Show, Checked
- Sources
- 5 contradict
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
The Jimmy Dore ShowAug 3, 2026
The claim's literal assertion is contradicted: the Twenty-Sixth Amendment has been in force since 1971 and is applied in every U.S. election to set the voting age at 18. The post's apparent point, that the amendment is not used as a tool for political change, is opinion the sources do not address, so it cannot rescue the literal claim.
What was said
… It's, it's what you're saying when you say, "Use the Twenty-Sixth Amendment," right? You're saying, "Let's use the tools of the system." When you say they're going to impeach Trump, let's, you say, "Let's use the tools of the system." The system had provided us with the Twenty-Sixth Amendment. They didn't provide us with nothing because it hasn't been used, and it ain't going to be used. They've improved, they've, ah, given us impeachment. Come on, you gotta have, ah, what is it, two-thirds majority? You'll never, ever get that. Impeachment is a show. People like, when Trump comes in, they're going to impeach him. …
The Jimmy Dore Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. The Congressional Research Service and the Library of Congress describe the amendment as operative law that lowered the minimum voting age to 18 for all federal, state, and local elections.[2][3]
Contradicts. The AP's 2024 voter guide states that the 26th Amendment sets the voting age at 18 and that eligibility depends on being at least that age by Election Day, so the amendment is applied in current elections.[1]
Contradicts. The House of Representatives history site and the Library of Congress classroom materials confirm the amendment was ratified in 1971 and has governed voting age since then.[4][5]
Context. The amendment has been tested in court, for example over absentee voting rules during COVID-19, and the Fifth and Seventh Circuits rejected those challenges, which shows it is an active legal provision and not an unused one.[2]
Sources
5 sources: 1 fact-checker, 4 primary
- 1Who can vote in US elections, and what steps must you take to do so?apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution - Congress.govcongress.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts, context
- 3U.S. Constitution - Twenty-Sixth Amendment | Resources | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congressconstitution.congress.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 4The Twenty-sixth Amendment | US House of Representativeshistory.house.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 5Youth Vote | Presidential Elections and Voting in U.S. Historyloc.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post