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1820s-1840s: Rise of Democratic Politics

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1820s-1840s: Rise of Democratic Politics

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Before 1822, a very small proportion of adult white males were unable to vote because of property qualifications and tax-paying status. Thus, only rich, white adult males were able to vote in elections. Less than 30% of adult white males had voted in elections. However, during this time frame, many of the property qualifications were abolished and a two-party government system. This boosted government participation to almost 80% of adult white males voting for elections.

Voting rights were protected with this new rise of democratic politics by allowing adult, white males the ability to vote, no matter their socioeconomic status.

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“Citizens shall not be denied the right to vote by states or the United States “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude”

The 15th Amendment was an amendment that was enacted after the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed citizenship and legal protection for African Americans. After slavery ended, many African American males were still denied the right to vote because of literacy tests or poll taxes. This amendment expanded the rights of African American males to have the right to vote.

Voting rights are protected with this amendment by guaranteeing the right to vote to everyone regardless of their race or ethnicity within American society.

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“Citizens shall not be denied the right to vote by the states or the United States “on account of sex””

The 19th Amendment was enacted after World War I. This amendment gave women the right to vote. Women called for the right to vote during the late 1800s into the early 1900s. It began after African American males gained the right to vote. Since, through protests and appeals to government, women was finally granted the right to vote.

This amendment expanded voting rights by outlawing actions and maneuvers used to limit the right to vote on account of sex. This means that everyone, regardless of their sex, have the right to vote. This also expanded voting rights to women.

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This act allowed all Native Americans born in the U.S. have full U.S. citizenship. Because of this, Native Americans now had the ability to vote within their states of residence. However, the law did leave it up to the states on if they are going to allow Native Americans the right to vote. Consequently, many Native Americans still were denied the right to vote through various laws and legislation that limited their chances to the poll.

This legislation expanded the right to vote for Native Americans by granting those who were born in the United States the right to vote. This protected the right to vote by enabling Native Americans to still have the chance to vote in their respective states on a federal scale. However, because of state laws, Native Americans were still denied the right to vote.

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During this time, those who were of Asian decent, especially Japanese decent, were largely discriminated against. One of the ways that they were discriminated against was through blocking their access to the poll through various means. The McCarran-Walter Act had granted citizenship through naturalization for Japanese-Americans. This act had also expanded Asian immigration into the U.S.

This legislation expanded the rights to vote through allowing Asian-Americans to be citizens through naturalization. This protected the right to vote by allowing Asian-Americans to become citizens of America, which removed any barriers that had prevented them the ability to vote has been torn down.

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“For presidential and vice presidential elections, “the District constituting the seat of government” shall appoint a number of electors “in no event more than the least populous State.”

This amendment allowed the District of Columbia, the capital of the U.S, to have electors to represent them during presidential elections. In the original Constitution, the document mandated that the District of Columbia doesn’t become a state, for fear of an advantage over states that were farther away from the capital. However, as the capital grew, the people demanded more representation in government during presidential elections.

This amendment expanded the voting rights of those who lived at the nation’s capital. Voting rights were protected by allowing people who lived in the capital to have representation during the presidential elections and be able to appoint electors who would vote in the Electoral College to represent their interests.

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“Citizens shall not be denied the right to vote by the states or the United States “by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax””

Before this amendment was created, people were still limited to vote to vote at polls because of poll taxes. Primarily African Americans still had the limitation of being able to vote, especially in southern states because of being unable to pay a poll tax. A poll tax was a fee that would have to be paid in order to vote. This eliminated the poll tax to allow everyone to be able to vote no matter their socioeconomic status or race.

This amendment protected voting rights by limiting the government from blocking the right to vote because that individual couldn’t afford a poll tax to benefit the government. This also ensured that African Americans would have expanded access to vote.

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Even after the 24th Amendment was passed, African Americans were still blocked from the polls through difficult literacy tests. This amendment expanded the rights of African Americans to vote by outlawing literacy tests for good. Additionally, this also the U.S. Department of Justice to monitor communities that have low voter turnout. States that wanted to change policies within an area of low voter turnout had to get pre clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice before doing so. This surveillance from the U.S. Department of Justice was eventually ruled unconstitutional, because racial disparity in regards to voting was viewed as no longer a problem.

This amendment protected the voting rights by enabling African Americans to not be limited from the polls through difficult literacy tests. Additionally, in communities of low voter turnout, this legislation ensured that people still had the free choice to vote.

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“Citizens “eighteen years of age or older” shall not be denied the right to vote by the states “on account of age””

Before this amendment was enacted, it was required for people to be 21 years old or over in order to vote. However, during World War II, the government had sent those under 21 years of age, to 18 years of age, to war to fight. Individuals that were sent to war protested being denied the right to vote, when the government was sending them to war. The 26th Amendment enabled those who are able to be sent to war has the ability to choose the nations leaders.

This amendment protects voting rights by expanding the right to vote to those who are considered adults on a federal scale and their right cannot be limited because of their age. This allows those who can be drafted into war have a say into who leads the nations.

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The reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act expanded some of the major provisions of the original Voting Rights Act in 1965. This act continued the coverage formula. Additionally, it added in new amendments to the Voting Rights Act. Jurisdictions who are supervised by the Department of Justice had to have records of at least 17 years without any discriminatory voting practices to qualify for bailouts. Additionally, ballots were now able to become available in a diverse range of languages.

This legislation protected voting rights by providing resources for those who don’t speak English still have the opportunity to vote. In a nation of diverse languages, not everyone speaks the language of English and these individuals may have a hard time completing the ballot. By providing the ballot in different languages, this ensures that more people would have access to the ballot. Additionally, this legislation worked to continue to improve the voting rights of African Americans.

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1984: Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act

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1984: Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act

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This legislation requires that all polling places to have proper accommodations for those who are handicapped or elderly to be able to enter the building. Additionally, if the polling places isn’t accessible, separate accommodations have to be made in order for the person to vote. Lastly, any aid or accessibility devices needed for the elderly to use to effectively cast their ballot must be allowed.

This legislation protects the voting of those who are disabled or elderly to still have the opportunity to vote. Many of those who are disabled or elderly are not able to go to polling places, or there aren’t proper accommodations for them to enter the building in order to cast their vote. This legislation expands the access to voting to a wider range of people, with the elderly and disabled included.

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1. AMSCO Book

2. https://www.civiced.org/voting-lessons/voting-timeline

3. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/immigration-act

4. https://reagan.blogs.archives.gov/2022/04/19/legacy-of-the-voting-rights-act-expansions-of-the-1970s/

5. https://drradvocates.org/voting-accessibility-for-the-elderly-and-handicapped-act/