Voting Rights in America Timeline by Reagan Trinh _ Student - RiverBendMS

1789 (Ratification of the Constitution)

ntelsadek — 2024-11-18 13:03:04 UTC

Did not explicitly state a protection for the and instead left it to the states. Generally, states only allowed white men to vote. Some states enforced religious tests to allow only Christian men to vote.

19th Amendment

jibrown7 — 2024-11-18 13:05:45 UTC

In August 18, 1920, the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Women were affected by this amendment because it granted women the right to vote.The action to make this change was driven by a long and persistent movement by women’s suffrage activists, who campaigned for equal voting rights for women.

15th Amendment

rdtrinh2 — 2024-11-18 13:07:32 UTC

It passed Congress on February 26, 1869, and was ratified on February 3, 1870. This amendment gave black males the right to vote. In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, it stated "separated but equal" which legalized facilities for the races. African Americans exercised the right to vote, which ensured "white supremacy" and the "Grandfather's clauses".

23rd Amendment

rdtrinh2 — 2024-11-18 13:16:10 UTC

Congress passed the amendment on June 16, 1960. This amendment allows citizens to vote for running candidates (those running for President and Vice President). Before this amendment was passed, citizens who were living in the District couldn't vote for the candidates unless they were validly registered to vote in one of the states.

17th Amendment

jibrown7 — 2024-11-18 13:16:47 UTC

The 17th Amendment made it so that the people of each state elect the senator instead of the state legislature. This affected the senators and the people. The people now have more control over their government and the senators. The change was driven by concerns over corruption and undemocratic practices, as state legislatures were often influenced by political machines and special interests.

Changes in State Constitutions during the Era of Jacksonian Democracy

jibrown7 — 2024-11-18 13:22:52 UTC

During the early to mid-1800s many U.S. states reformed their constitutions to expand political participation, primarily by removing property requirements for voting, allowing more white men to vote. These changes also increased the election of public officials, such as governors and judges, rather than having them appointed. The reforms were inspired by Andrew Jackson’s populist ideals, aiming to give more power to the common man, though they still excluded African Americans, Native Americans, and women from political participation.

24th Amendment

rdtrinh2 — 2024-11-18 13:27:33 UTC

The 24th Amendment was ratified on January 23, 1964. The amendment prohibited both the federal and state governments from imposing poll taxes before a U.S. citizen could participate in an election. The poll taxes and other methods were made with discriminatory intent but were still created in a way to avoid federal scrutiny.

26th Amendment-July 1, 1971

jibrown7 — 2024-11-18 13:28:15 UTC

The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age in federal and state elections from 21 to 18. This change was driven by the widespread activism during the Vietnam War, as many argued that if 18-year-olds were old enough to be drafted into the military, they should also have the right to vote. The amendment passed quickly in response to public pressure and was ratified in just over three months, reflecting a shift toward greater political inclusion for younger Americans

Indian citizenship act of 1924

2024-11-18 13:31:01 UTC

Sadly the after this act, native americans still have to litigate for their right to vote and the reason that is, is because the ballots are extremely far away from their living locations (reservations)

The action was taken by the natives themselves, because even the veterans weren't given permission to vote.

The native americans were excepted from all the prior amendments referring to voting before this act.

1965 (Voting Rights Act)

ntelsadek — 2024-11-18 13:34:44 UTC

The 15th amendment had been passed prior to this which legally gave black american men the right to vote, however black american men still had to get around restrictions and processes designed to prevent them from voting. The voting rights act was signed in an attempt to prevent the continuation of any form discrimination against those who have been legally given the right to vote. This abolished things like poll taxes, and literacy tests.

Online voting Law

skondrajuvenkatveera — 2024-11-19 13:27:43 UTC

A new law we propose is to make voting online, which would make the voting process much easier. Half of the U.S. population does not vote due to reasons such as low income and the belief that their vote doesn't matter. By making voting online, we can help increase voter turnout by making it more accessible and convenient for everyone. This can also help with voter id laws because they could just include a pdf including their ID. There should be voting in person too because most old people do not know or aren't familiar with this online stuff.