Title 48 — Territories and Insular PossessionsRelease 119-73not60

§1542 Voting Franchise; Discrimination Prohibited

Title 48 › Chapter 12— VIRGIN ISLANDS [1954] › Subchapter I— GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 1542

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Residents of the Virgin Islands who are U.S. citizens and at least 21 years old have the right to vote. The local legislature can set other voter rules, but it cannot make people own property, speak a certain language, or earn a certain income to vote, and it cannot treat people differently because of race, color, sex, or religion. The legislature may lower the voting age to no less than 18, but only if a majority of qualified voters approve in a referendum.

Full Legal Text

Title 48, §1542

Territories and Insular Possessions — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The franchise shall be vested in residents of the Virgin Islands who are citizens of the United States, twenty-one years of age or over. Additional qualifications may be prescribed by the legislature: Provided, however, That no property, language, or income qualification shall ever be imposed upon or required of any voter, nor shall any discrimination in qualification be made or based upon difference in race, color, sex, or religious belief.

(b)The legislature shall have authority to enact legislation establishing the voting age for residents of the Virgin Islands at an age not lower than eighteen years of age, if a majority of the qualified voters in the Virgin Islands approve in a referendum election held for that purpose.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1970—Pub. L. 91–460 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

48 U.S.C. § 1542

Title 48 — Territories and Insular Possessions

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60