Voting Rights in the United States

By ana quintanilla

  • Constitution is ratified

    Only white male adult property-owners have the right to vote.

  • Religious qualifications dropped

    Last religious prerequisite for voting is eliminated

  • Property requirements dropped

    Property ownership and tax requirements eliminated by 1850. Almost all adult white males could vote.

  • 15th Amendment

    1870 The 15th Amendment is passed. It gives former slaves the right to vote and protects the voting rights of adult male citizens of any race.

  • 19th Amendment

    The 19th Amendment guarantees women's suffrage.

  • 23rd Amendment

    The 23rd Amendment allows voters of the District of Columbia to participate in presidential elections.

  • 24th Amendment

    The 24th Amendment bans the poll tax as a requirement for voting in federal elections.

  • Voting Rights Act of 1965

    1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., mounts a voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama, to draw national attention to African-American voting rights. 1965 The Voting Rights Act protects the rights of minority voters and eliminates voting barriers such as the literacy test. The Act is expanded and renewed in 1970, 1975, and 1982.

  • 26th Amendment

    The 26th amendment sets the minimum voting age at 18.