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After George Washington was elected president, the constitution was ratified. During this time, only white, male, adult property owners could vote. That was only 6% of the population of the United States at the time!
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Previous to this time, anyone that was able to vote had to pass a religious test of sorts to make sure they were "qualified" to vote. In 1810, this qualification for voting was dropped and no test was required.
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By 1850, almost all adult white males could vote and no longer needed to be property owners to be qualified.
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When the 15th Amendment was put in place, it eliminated the restrictions on race. From this point on, former slaves and adult males of any color could vote.
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The 19th Amendment for the first time guaranteed woman's suffrage. This amendment gave women everywhere the right to vote in state and federal elections.
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The 23rd Amendment gave those in the District of Columbia the right to vote. This included those in the city of Washington.
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When the 24th Amendment was passed, it guaranteed that there would be no special tax to vote. It completely banned poll tax as a requirement.
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The Voting Rights Act of 1965 eliminated voting barriers such as the literacy test and protected the rights of minority voters. This act just further forbid the states from putting discriminatory restrictions for people that could vote
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After the Vietnam War, it was largely thought that if you were old enough to fight, you should be old enough to vote. This brought on the passing of the 26th Amendment that lowered the voting age to 18.
