ONE OF OUR MOST FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
AS AMERICAN CITIZENS IS THE VOTE,
BUT FOR MUCH OF OUR HISTORY, MANY
INDIVIDUALS WERE DENIED THIS RIGHT.
Gradually, marginalized groups were allowed
citizenship, auxiliary laws (like the Voting
Rights Act) were enacted, and most especially,
constitutional amendments were passed to
cement this right for future generations.
1787
U.S. CONSTITUTION ADOPTED
At this time, there is no agreement on a national standard for voting
rights and states regulate their own voting laws. In most cases, only
white male landowners can vote (about 6% of the population).
1789
Asserts that states will lose their representation in Congress if they
deny voting rights. However, only male citizens 21 years of age and
older can vote.
#1
1870
15th AMENDMENT
When Wyoming becomes a state
(1890), it is the first to include voting
rights for women in its constitution.
States that the right to vote cannot be denied based on race “or
previous condition of servitude”. Soon after, taxes, literacy tests,
violence and other intimidation tactics are used to keep African
Americans from registering to vote.
1920
Until legal action in 1947, Native
Americans were not guaranteed the
right to vote, despite being citizens.
23rd AMENDMENT
1961
Grants citizens of Washington, D.C. the right to vote for U.S. president
via the Electoral College. To this day, however, the district’s residents
still do not have voting representation in Congress.
U.S. citizens from U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the
Northern Mariana Islands cannot vote for president and do not have
voting representation in Congress.
26th AMENDMENT
4th AMENDMENT
19th AMENDMENT
Extends the right to vote to women in both state and federal elections,
48 years after Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth were arrested at or
turned away from polling places for attempting to vote.
Until the McCarran-Walter Act
(1952), Asians faced legal barriers to
becoming citizens, and therefore were
unable to vote.
1964
24th AMENDMENT
Guarantees the right to vote in federal elections will not be denied
for failure to pay any taxes, a tactic historically used to keep minorities
from voting.
1971
Authorizes the lowering of the voting age to 18, largely as a result of
Vietnam War protests that said that people who are old enough to fight
should be old enough to vote.
Voting materials were printed in
languages other than English for the
first time in 1975.
vote tupyo
tóupiào iimis
votar tōhyō
01. Why is it important to have laws that ensure citizens’ right to vote?
02. Do you feel like the current voting laws are sufficient or fair? Why or why not?
03. If you could enact another law that would help guarantee people’s right to vote or encourage people to vote, what would it be?
04. Were you surprised by the timeline of voting rights have changed over time? Why or why not?
S T UDE N T GOV E R N M E N TA L A F FA IRS PROGRA M | SGA P. org |
www.kqed.org/assets/pdf/education/digitalmedia/us-voting-rights-timeline.pdf; www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/02/obama-birthright-citizenshipracist-american-samoa-tuaua; www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/voting-rights-Constitution-amendments/2015/11/15/id/702275/#ixzz4E8ubVhLL; www.
theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/what-does-the-constitution-actually-say-about-voting-rights/278782/