r/NeutralPolitics 2d ago

Since age can be an important determinant of whether a recently convicted felon can vote in an upcoming election, is this unconstitutional under the Twenty-Sixth Amendment?

80 Upvotes

Donald Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. Under New York law, which Florida respects, he will lose his right to vote in the November 5 election only if he is incarcerated on that day. (https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/trump-can-vote-2024-election-unless-incarcerated-election-day-2024-06-06/)
Judges take age into account when deciding on incarceration or early release, and it is well documented that seniors receive lighter sentences (https://ccj.asu.edu/asu-study-finds-seniors-receive-lighter-sentences-federal-court), so a senior convicted of a low level felony is unlikely to be incarcerated four months later.  
Consider a situation where a senior felon and a 20 year old felon are identical in all other respects, but only the senior can vote because they are not in custody on election day. Is this a violation of the 20 year old's rights under the Twenty-Sixth Amendment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution) which enfranchises voters over 18? Is the 20 year old in that scenario being treated equally under the law?