Previous Year Question
Which Constitution Amendment Act reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years?
66th Amendment
62nd Amendment
61st Amendment
63rd Amendment
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988 reduced the minimum voting age from 21 years to 18 years. For this purpose, Article 326 was amended by substituting the words “eighteen years” for “twenty-one years.”
Article 326 deals with elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies on the basis of adult suffrage. Following the 61st Amendment, an eligible citizen aged 18 years or above may, subject to statutory qualifications and disqualifications, be registered as a voter.
The Statement of Objects and Reasons referred to the increased literacy and political awareness of young people and stated that lowering the voting age would provide previously unrepresented youth an opportunity to participate in the political process.
The Amendment Act received Presidential assent on 28 March 1989. Thus, the useful examination association is—61st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988 → Article 326 → Voting age reduced from 21 to 18 years.