Washington Law Review
Abstract
The 1971 Washington Legislature helped bridge the generation gap by lowering the age of majority to eighteen years for almost all purposes. The statute manifests a confidence in the maturity of persons between eighteeen and twenty-one years of age and recognizes their readiness to accept the responsibilities of citizenship. Although Congress brought this issue to the center of national awareness with the passage of the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, the task of extending to eighteeen year olds the full measure of legal rights remains with the states. The purpose of this note is to summarize by topic the changes brought about by the 1971 Washington statute and to identify some of the legal questions created by the enactment itself.
First Page
367
Recommended Citation
anon,
Recent Developments,
Citizenship for Eighteen Year Olds—Age of Majority in Washington—Ch. 292, Washington Laws of 1971,
47 Wash. L. Rev.
367
(1972).
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol47/iss2/7