Between 1820-1840

Voting rights were expanded from White males who held property to White males who paid taxes and had served in the militia. This was later expanded further to expand voting to all White men.

With states repealing property and officeholding qualifications to vote along with state amendments that established universal white manhood suffrage, the right to vote was protected for all white men in most states.

1870

Suffrage expanded to non-white men and freed male slaves

Voting rights were protected with the 15th Amendment because the states and federal government were no longer allowed to deny people the right to vote based on race. However, some states got past this through Jim Crow Laws.

1920

Suffrage expanded to women

Women's right to vote was now protected because it was guaranteed under the Constitution that the right to vote should not be denied by states or the federal government on account of sex.

1924

The Snyder Act admitted that US-born Native Americans had citizenship, so suffrage was expanded to the Native Americans

Because Native Americans were now considered citizens under this act, they legally had the right to vote under the 15th Amendment. However, states still prevented Native Americans from voting because they were able to decide who had the right to vote.

1952

Suffrage expanded to Asians and Asian Americans

The Immigration and Nationality Acts removed race as a barrier to citizenship, which allowed Asians to become citizens. This meant that Asians were legally allowed to vote under the 15th Amendment if they were successful in obtaining citizenship

1961

Right to vote for president expanded to Washington DC residents

Under the Constitution, residents in DC could no longer be denied the right to vote solely based on where they lived. However, DC residents were still unable to vote for congressional representation

1964

Suffrage expanded to people who could not afford or did not want to pay poll taxes

The 24th Amendment prohibited states from requiring a poll tax to vote in federal elections. By doing this, the government increased the amount of voters because people were more likely to vote given that they did not have to pay a poll tax anymore.

1965

Suffrage expanded further to people of color

With this act, states were no longer allowed to use literacy tests and discriminatory barriers to prevent black people from voting. This means that the right to vote was legally protected for African Americans and that they were no longer subject to discriminatory practices that prohibited them from voting.

1971

Suffrage was expanded to people who were between 18 and 20 years of age. This amendment lowered the voting age to 18 instead of 21

With this Amendment, states and the federal government were no longer able to deny adults the right to vote on account of age. This legally protected the right to vote for individuals between 18 and 20

1975

Suffrage was expanded once again to language minority groups

With the Reauthorization of the VRA, the government broadened its provisions to address voting discrimination. Overall, this act reaffirmed that literacy tests could not be used to deny the right for minorities, especially those who speak a different language, to vote.

1984

Suffrage was expanded to people with disabilities

With this act, polling places were required to be accessible for both handicapped and disabled people. This ensured that disabled people were guaranteed the right to vote because they were now able to vote at any polling place without fear that they would not be accessible to them.