Voter Qualifications
6.2
Learning Targets
• IDENTIFY universal
requirements for voting.
• EVALUATE universal
requirements for voting.
Universal Requirements
•  What does universal mean?
•  Citizenship - most States require U.S. citizenship
to vote.
•  Residence - one must be a legal resident of a
State to vote in elections. Most states require
residency for minimum amounts of time in order to
vote in the State.
•  Age - 26th amendment requires that no State set
a minimum voting age above 18.
Other Qualifications
Registration - all States but North
Dakota use this. Meant to prevent
fraudulent voting.
Literacy - a person s ability to read
or write. No longer required to vote.
Used several times in our nation s
history.
Poll taxes - a special tax payment
required to vote. Prevented by 24th
amendment.
Restrictions to Voting
States also have restrictions on the
right to vote to certain members of
the population.
Examples
- those found to be mentally
incompetent
- people convicted of serious crimes