The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that a citizen who is 18 years of age older may not be denied the right to vote on account of age, and states:

Section 1.

The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.

Section 2.

The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

And the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that a person may not be denied the right to vote on account of sex, and states:

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

In Rhode Island, as in all states across the United States, the right to vote is protected under the Twenty-sixth and Nineteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The Twenty-sixth Amendment ensures that citizens who are 18 years of age or older cannot be denied the right to vote based on their age. This means that in Rhode Island, any citizen who meets the age requirement and other state-imposed eligibility criteria, such as residency and registration requirements, is entitled to vote in elections. Similarly, the Nineteenth Amendment guarantees that the right to vote cannot be denied on the basis of sex, ensuring that both male and female citizens have equal voting rights. Rhode Island must comply with these constitutional amendments, and any attempt to infringe upon these rights could be subject to legal challenge. Additionally, Congress has the authority to pass legislation to enforce both amendments, which can impact how states, including Rhode Island, implement voting laws and protections.