Voting Rights

By juliana_farma

  • Rise of Democratic Politics

    Between 1820-1840, property qualifications for voting and holding office were repealed, and direct methods of voting replaced indirect methods. Overall, this greatly increased voting participation, but still, only for white men.

  • 15th Amendment

    Black men are granted suffrage, thus protecting their right to vote.

  • 19th Amendment

    Women win the right to vote, protecting their suffrage on a federal level.

  • The Indian Citizenship Act

    This act granted citizenship to Native Americans born in the United States, thus, giving them the right to vote. Even so, the states could still deny them this right.

  • The McCarran-Walter Act

    Japanese Americans born in the U.S. are granted citizenship, ending legal disenfranchisement.

  • 23rd Amendment

    Residents of the District of Columbia are given the right to vote in presidential elections.

  • 24th Amendment

    This amendment declares poll taxes in presidential and congressional elections unconstitutional. This removes the barrier to voting faced by lower-income voters.

  • Voting Rights Act

    This act declared that limiting minority group voting rights is unconstitutional, including administering literacy tests. This protects minorities from disenfranchisement on a federal level.

  • 26th Amendment

    Eighteen-year-olds are given the right to vote. This protects and encourages voting for young adults.

  • VRA Reauthorization

    Literacy tests are, once again, declared unconstitutional, and Texas's voting district lines are deemed unconstitutional for minimizing minority voting power.

  • Voting Accessibility for Elderly and Handicapped Act

    This act requires that each State and local government assure that all polling places for Federal elections are accessible for the disabled and the elderly.