Voting Rights Timeline

By jobrien2006

  • Rise of Democratic Politics

    1820 - 1840. Abolition of property qualifications, taxpaying and militia qualifications. Getting rid of qualifications to vote allowed more people to vote than before without needing to own property, pay taxes or serve in a militia

  • 15th Amendment

    Ratified in 1870. The 15th Amendment prohibits the government from denying people the right to vote based on race. This protects peoples right to vote by making sure that they can't be denied based on race or skin color

  • 19th Amendment

    Ratified 1920. The 19th Amendment prevents the government from denying people the right to vote based on sex. This protects women's voting rights by making sure that they can't be denied the right to vote.

  • Indian Citizenship Act of 1924

    Also called the Snyder Act, the act was passed by congress and admitted Native Americans born in the US to full US citizenship. This expands voting rights to Native Americans because citizens are guaranteed the right to vote and cannot be denied based on race.

  • McCarran Walter Act of 1952

    This act allowed people of Asian Descent to immigrate and become citizens. This relates to voting rights because citizens are guaranteed the right to vote and cannot be denied based on race.

  • 23rd Amendment

    Ratified 1961. The 23rd Amendment expanded the vote to the District of Columbia. They did this by giving electors to the district. This expanded the right to vote by giving the people living in DC some votes in the Presidential election

  • 24th Amendment

    Ratified 1964. This amendment prevents government from imposing taxes on voters for elections. This expands the right to vote by stopping the government from preventing people that can't afford the tax from voting.

  • Voting Rights Act of 1965

    This act prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It expands the right to vote by regulating elections and making sure that people are not prevented from voting based on race.

  • 26th Amendment

    Ratified 1971. This act lowered the standardized voting age to 18 years old. This expanded voting rights by allowing people that were old enough to fight in a war to vote.

  • VRA Reauthorization of 1975

    The Voting Rights Act Reauthorization extended the amount of time that the VRA was active and could be used to protect peoples rights and regulate elections.

  • Voting accessibility for elderly and handicapped act

    This act requires polling places in the United States to be physically accessible to people that have disabilities. This expands the right to vote by making sure that people can reach polling places.