Deadline to register to vote in the Municipal Primary: April 22nd, 2019
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MUNICIPAL PRIMARY:
May 21st, 2019
A Brief History of Voting Rights in America
Today, the right to vote cannot be withheld due to race, gender, or class. This was not always the case. Below, you will find a short overview of voting rights in America.
1776
Although the founding fathers had a chance to give everyone the right to vote, it was decided that only white, property-owning men would have the privilege.
1787
The "Three-Fifths Compromise" was enacted, by which slaves were counted as 3/5 of a person when determining representation for the states in the House of Representatives.
1828
Religious restrictions on voting rights are officially nonexistent in the United States. White men of any religion are given the franchise.
1857
The Supreme Court rules that African Americans are not citizens, and do not have the same rights as white people, in the Dred Scott decision. They were thus denied voting rights.
1870
The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, granting all men, regardless of race, the right to vote.
1882
Congress enacts the Chinese Exclusion Act, denying Chinese persons citizenship, and thus the right to vote.
1890
Native Americans are given the franchise via the Indian Naturalization Act.
1920
One hundred and forty-four years after the founding of the nation, women finally win the right to vote via the Nineteenth Amendment.
1923
Persons of Indian descent are denied citizenship and the right to vote.
1965
The Voting Rights Act is enacted, prohibiting any election process which has the effect of denying the vote to citizens based on race.
1964
Passage of the Civil Rights Act makes any discrimination on the basis of race, gender, national origin, or religion in public places unlawful. By law, no United States' citizen could be denied the right to vote.