-
The right to vote during Colonial and Revolutionary times was restricted to the property owners--most of whom were whiter males.
-
Since there is no agreement on a national standard for voting rights, states are giving the right to regulate there own voting rights.
-
Only 6% of the population can vote.
-
Frederick Douglass's speech helps the convention to adopt a resolution calling for voting rights for women.
-
The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo guarantees U.S. citizenship to Mexicans living in territories conquered by the US, but English language requirements and violent intimidation limit access to voting rights.
-
North Carolina was the last of the states to remove property ownership as a requirement to vote.
-
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed an organization for white and black women and men dedicated to the idea of universal voting rights then disbanded and reconnected over disagreements in strategies to gain the vote for women and African Americas.
-
14th Amendment is passed (citizenship is given to former slaves). Voters; however, was explicitly defined as male. Although the amendment forbids states from denying any rights of citizenships, voting regulation is still left to the states.
-
It states that the right to vote cannot be denied by the federal or state governments based on race. However, soon after, some states begin to enact measures such as voting taxes and literacy tests that restrict the actual ability of African Americans to register to vote.
-
Susan B. Anthony is arrested and brought to trial in New York for tempting to vote in the presidential election. At the same time, Sojourner Truth, a former slave, and advocate for justice and equality appears at a polling booth in Michigan demanding a ballot but she was turned away.
-
The Supreme Court ruled that Native Americans were not citizens as defined by the 14th Amendment and thus cannot vote.
-
The Chinese Exclusion Act bars people of Chinese ancestry from naturalizing to become U.S. citizens. Dawes Act passed. It grants citizenship to Native Americans who give up their tribal affiliations.
-
Wyoming admitted to statehood and became the first state to legislate voting for women in its constitution.
-
The Indian Naturalization Act grants citizenship to Native Americans whose applications are approved-- similar to the process of immigrant naturalization.
-
Women lead voting rights marches through New York and Washington, D.C.
-
19th Amendment passed, giving women the right to vote in both state and federal elections.
-
Supreme Court rules that people of Japanese heritage are ineligible to become naturalized citizens. In the next year, the Court finds that Asian Indians are also not eligible to naturalize.
-
The Indian Citizenship Act grants citizenship to Native Americans, but many states nonetheless make laws and policies which prohibit Native Americans from voting
-
Congress bars Filipinos from U.S. citizenship unless they have served three years in the Navy.
-
While attempting to register to vote in Alabama, a group of African American women are beaten by election officials.
-
Miguel Trujillo, a Native American and former Marine, sues New Mexico for not allowing him to vote. He wins and New Mexico and Arizona are required to give the vote to all Native Americans.
-
McCarran- Walter Act grants all people of Asian ancestry the right to become citizens.
-
It gives citizens of Washington, D.C. the right to vote for U.S. president. But to this day, the district's residents-- most of whom are African American-- still do not have voting representation in Congress.
-
Large-scale efforts in the South to register African Americans to vote are intensified. However, state officials refuse to allow African Americans to register by using voting taxes, literacy tests and violent intimidation. Among the efforts launched is Freedom Summer, where close to a thousand civil rights workers of all races and backgrounds converge on the South to support voting rights.
-
24th Amendment passed. It guarantees that the right to vote in federal elections will not be denied for failure to pay any tax
-
Voting Rights Act passed. It forbids states from imposing discriminatory restrictions on who can vote and provides mechanisms for the federal government to enforce its provisions
-
26th Amendment passed, granting voting rights to 18 year old.
-
Amendments to Voting Rights Act require that certain voting materials be printed in languages besides English so that people who do not read English can participate in the voting process.
-
National Voter Registration Act passed. Intends to increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote b making registration available at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
-
A month prior to the presidential election, a federal court decides that Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico, though U.S. citizens, cannot vote for U.S. president. (Residents of U.S. territories including Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S Virgin Islands cannot vote in presidential elections and do not have voting representation in the U.S. Congress.
-
The National Commission on Federal Election Reform recommends that all states allow felons to regain their right to vote after completing their criminal sentences. Nearly 4 million U.S. citizens Could not vote because of past felony convictions. In California, felons were prohibited from voting while they were in prison or on parole. But, in other states, especially in the South. a person with a felony conviction was forever prohibited from voting in that state.
-
Help America Vote Act passed in response to dispute 2000 presidential election. Massive voting reform effort requires states comply with federal mandate for provisional ballots, disability access, centralized, computerized voting lists, electronic voting and requirements that first- time voters present identification before voting.
