Timeline of voting rights in the United States explained
See main article: article and Voting rights in the United States.
This is a timeline of voting rights in the United States, documenting when various groups in the country gained the right to vote or were disenfranchised.
1700s
1780s
1789
- The Constitution of the United States recognizes that the states have the power to set voting requirements. A few states allowed free Black men to vote, and New Jersey also included unmarried and widowed women who owned property.[1]
- Georgia removes property requirement for voting.
1790s
1790
- The Naturalization Act of 1790 allows free white persons born outside of the United States to become citizens. However, since each state set its own requirements for voting, this Act (and its successor Naturalization Act of 1795) did not automatically grant these naturalized citizens the right to vote.[2]
1791
- Vermont is admitted as a new state, giving the vote to all men regardless of color or property ownership.
1792
- New Hampshire removes property ownership as requirement to vote.
- Kentucky is admitted as a new state, giving the vote to free men regardless of color or property ownership, although the vote would shortly be taken away from free Black people.
- Delaware removes property ownership as requirement to vote, but continues to require that voters pay taxes.
1798
- Georgia removes tax requirement for voting.
1800s
1800
- Only three states, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Vermont, had universal white male suffrage.[3]
1807
- Voting rights are taken away from free black men and all women in New Jersey.
1819
- Economic crisis stemming from the Panic of 1819 led to greater calls from propertyless men for the abolition of restrictions to voting; by 1830, the number of states with universal white male suffrage had risen to ten, although six still had property qualifications and eight had taxpaying qualifications. Territories on the frontier, eager to attract new settlers, also helped expand suffrage.[3]
1821
- In 1821, the state of New York held a constitutional convention which removed property requirements for white male voters, but required that "persons of colour" own $250 worth of property, "over and above all debts," in order to vote. White male voters were instead required to pay a tax, but this rule was abolished in an amendment of 1826. Requirements for persons of color were not affected by this amendment.[4] Due to the state's policy of gradual emancipation, slavery persisted until 1827, but until then the proportion of African Americans who were free (and thus potential voters) steadily increased. Native Americans still controlled large territories in Upstate New York, and though typically excluded from citizenship altogether, the property requirement applied to any voter who was not white.
1828
- The 1828 presidential election was the first in which non-property-holding white males could vote in the vast majority of states. By the end of the 1820s, attitudes and state laws had shifted in favor of universal white male suffrage.
- Maryland passes a law to allow Jews to vote.[5] Maryland was the last state to remove religious restrictions for voting.
1830s
1837
1838
- Kentucky women are allowed to vote in school elections.[7]
1840s
1840
1841
- The Dorr Rebellion takes place in Rhode Island because men who did not own land could not vote.[9]
1843
- Rhode Island drafts a new constitution extending voting rights to any free men regardless of whether they own property, provided they pay a $1 poll tax. Naturalized citizens are still not eligible to vote unless they own property.
1848
1850s
1856
1860s
1860
- Tax-paying qualifications remained in five states in 1860 – Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Delaware and North Carolina. They survived in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island until the 20th century. In addition, many poor whites were later disenfranchised.[11] [12]
1866
1868
- Citizenship is guaranteed to all male persons born or naturalized in the United States by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, setting the stage for future expansions to voting rights.
- November 3: The right of African American men to vote in Iowa is approved through a voter referendum.[14]
1869
- Women in Wyoming get equal suffrage rights.
1870s
1870
1875
- Minor v. Happersett goes to the Supreme Court, where it is decided that suffrage is not a right of citizenship and women do not necessarily have the right to vote.[16]
1876
- Native Americans are ruled non-citizens and ineligible to vote by the Supreme Court of the United States.
- Virginia amends their state constitution to include paying a poll tax as a requirement to vote.[17]
1880s
1882
- Chinese immigrants lose the right to become citizens and thus the ability to gain the right to vote through the Chinese Exclusion Act.
- Virginia amends their state constitution to eliminate paying the poll tax as a requirement to vote.[17]
1883
1887
- Citizenship is granted to Native Americans who are willing to disassociate themselves from their tribe by the Dawes Act, making those males technically eligible to vote.
- Women in Washington lose the right to vote.
- Women in Utah lose the right to vote under the Edmunds–Tucker Act.
- Kansas women earn the right to vote in municipal elections.
- Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, and South Dakota grant partial suffrage to women.
1890s
1890
- Native Americans can apply for citizenship through the Indian Naturalization Act.[18]
1893
- Colorado passes full women's suffrage.
1896
- Women in Utah regain their right to vote.[19]
- Grandfather clauses are enacted in Louisiana in order to disenfranchise Black voters.[20]
- Women's suffrage is won in Idaho.
1899
- The right to vote in the territory of Hawaii is restricted to English and Hawaiian speaking men and the territory is not allowed to make its own suffrage legislation.
1900's
1901
- Alabama enacts a cumulative poll tax in their state constitution. This means that all taxes that should have been paid since an eligible voter turned 21 must be paid before voting.
1902
1910s
1910
- Washington state restores women's right to vote through the state constitution.[21]
1911
1912
- Women in Arizona and Kansas earn the right to vote.
- Women in Oregon earn the right to vote.
1913
1914
1917
- Women in Arkansas earn the right to vote in primary elections.
- Women in Rhode Island earn the right to vote in presidential elections.
- Women in New York, Oklahoma, and South Dakota earn equal suffrage through their state constitutions.
1918
1920s
1920
- Women are guaranteed the right to vote by the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In practice, the same restrictions that hindered the ability of non-white men to vote now also applied to non-white women.
1923
1924
- All Native Americans are granted citizenship and the right to vote through the Indian Citizenship Act, regardless of tribal affiliation. By this point, approximately two thirds of Native Americans were already citizens.[28] Notwithstanding, some western states continued to bar Native Americans from voting until 1957.[29] [30] South Dakota refused to follow the law.
1925
- Alaska passes a literacy test designed to disenfranchise Alaska Native voters.
1926
- Georgia passes a cumulative poll tax rule.
1927
- Nixon v. Herndon is heard by the Supreme Court, which rules that white primary laws are unconstitutional.
1930s
1932
- Nixon v. Condon is heard by the Supreme Court which strikes down a Texas law to allow political parties to choose who can vote in their primary elections.
1933
1935
- Grovey v. Townsend decides that the Democratic Party, as private organization, can determine who is allowed to join and therefore vote in the primaries.
1937
- Breedlove v. Suttles was heard by the Supreme Court which decides that Georgia is allowed to impose a poll tax.
1940s
1943
1944
- The decision in Grovey v. Townsend is overturned by the case, Smith v. Allwright heard before the Supreme Court. It is decided that primary elections are an "integral component of the electoral process" and discrimination in participation in the primaries was prohibited.
1948
- Arizona and New Mexico are among the last states to extend full voting rights to Native Americans, which had been opposed by some western states in contravention of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.[32]
1950s
1951
- Butler v. Thompson is heard by the Supreme Court which rules that poll taxes are settled law that the state of Virginia is allowed to impose.
1952
1954
- Native Americans living on reservations earn the right to vote in Maine.[33] [34]
1958
- The provision in the North Dakota state constitution that required Native Americans to renounce their tribal affiliations two years before an election is removed.[35]
1959
- Alaska adopts a more lenient literacy test.
1960s
1961
1962-1964
1964
1965
- Protection of voter registration and voting for racial minorities, later applied to language minorities, is established by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This has also been applied to correcting discriminatory election systems and districting.
- In Harman v. Forssenius the Supreme Court ruled that poll taxes or "equivalent or milder substitutes" cannot be imposed on voters.
1966
- Tax payment and wealth requirements for voting in state elections are prohibited by the Supreme Court in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections. The poll tax would remain on the books, unenforceable, until 2020.
1970s
1970
- Alaska ends the use of literacy tests.
- Native Americans who live on reservations in Colorado are first allowed to vote in the state.[41]
1971
1972
- Requirement that a person reside in a jurisdiction for an extended period is prohibited by the Supreme Court in Dunn v. Blumstein, (1972).[44] [45]
1973
- Washington, D.C. local elections, such as Mayor and Councilmen, restored after a 100-year gap in Georgetown, and a 190-year gap in the wider city, ending Congress's policy of local election disfranchisement started in 1801 in this former portion of Maryland—see: D.C. Home rule.
1974
1975
- The Voting Rights Act is modified to provide voters information in Native American languages and other non-English languages.
1980s
1982
- A 25-year extension of the VRA is signed by President Ronald Reagan.
1983
- Texas repeals the lifelong prohibition against voters with felony convictions and institutes a five year waiting period after completing a sentence to vote.[47]
1985
- Texas changes the five year waiting period to two years for people with felony convictions.
1986
1990s
1993
1997
- Texas ends the two year waiting period for people with felony convictions to restore voting rights.
1998
- People in Utah with a felony conviction are prohibited from voting while serving their sentence. People with a felony conviction may vote after release from prison, if they were convicted in Utah. If they were convicted out of state, their rights are not restored due to the wording of the law.
2000's
2000
- Voters in United States territories, including American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands are ruled ineligible to vote in presidential elections.
- Delaware ends lifetime disenfranchisement for people with felony convictions for most offenses but institutes a five-year waiting period.
2001
- New Mexico ends lifetime disenfranchisement for people with a felony conviction.
2005
- Iowa restores the voting rights of felons who completed their prison sentences.[48]
- Nebraska ends lifetime disenfranchisement of people with felonies but adds a five-year waiting period.
2006
- The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was extended for the fourth time by President George W. Bush, being the second extension of 25 years.[49]
- Utah changes wording of their law and restores voting rights to all people who have completed their prison sentence for a felony.
- Rhode Island restores voting rights for people serving probation or parole for felonies.
2007
- Florida restores voting rights for most non-violent people with felony convictions.
2009
- Washington restores a person's right to vote if they have completed their sentences for a felony conviction.[50]
2010s
2010
- Voting rights in New Jersey are restored to individuals serving probation and parole for felonies.
2011
- Florida changes their felony voting rules; felons must wait five years after sentencing and apply for their right to vote again.
- Iowa reverses their rule allowing felons who have completed their sentences to vote.
- Texas passes one of the most restrictive voter ID laws in the country, but it is blocked by the courts.
2013
- Supreme Court ruled in the 5–4 Shelby County v. Holder decision that Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional. Section 4(b) stated that if states or local governments want to change their voting laws, they must appeal to the Attorney General.[51]
- Delaware waives the five-year waiting period for voters with a felony conviction.
- North Dakota passes House Bill 1332 which was targeted at restricting Native American voters. Any voter without a permanent address is no longer eligible to vote.[52]
2016
- California allows prisoners in county jail to vote.
- Maryland restores voting rights to felons after they have served their term in prison.
2017
- Alabama publishes a list of crimes that can lead to disqualification of the right to vote.
- Wyoming restores the voting rights of non-violent felons.
2018
- The residential address law in North Dakota is upheld by the United States Supreme Court.
- Florida voting rights for people with a felony conviction is restored with some additional requirements needed in some cases.
- People with a felony conviction in Louisiana who have not been incarcerated for five years (inclusive of probation or parole) are able to vote.
- New York allows parolees to vote.
2019
- People convicted of a felony may vote in Nevada after release from prison.
- Citizens on parole may vote in Colorado.
- People convicted of a felony may vote in Oklahoma after serving their full sentence, including parole and other types of probation.
2020s
2020
- California restores voting rights to citizens serving parole.
- Washington, D.C. passes a law to allow incarcerated felons to vote.
- People with a felony conviction have their right to vote in Iowa restored with some restrictions and each potential voter must have completed their sentence.
- People with a felony conviction in New Jersey can vote after release from prison; citizens on parole or probation can also vote.
- North Dakota reaches an agreement with the Spirit Lake Nation and the Standing Rock Sioux to recognize tribal address as valid for voting purposes.[53]
2021
- The Supreme Court's ruling on Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee removes most remaining sections of the Voting Rights Act, except for redistricting rules and bans of egregious discrimination.[54] [55]
- Texas enacts sweeping legislation that further tightens state election laws and constrains local control of elections by limiting counties’ ability to expand voting options.[56]
See also
References
Sources
External links
Notes and References
- Judith Apter. Klinghoffer. Lois. Elkis. 'The Petticoat Electors': Women's Suffrage in New Jersey, 1776-1807. Journal of the Early Republic. 12. 2. 1992. 159–193. 10.2307/3124150. 3124150.
- Web site: naturalization laws 1790-1795. www.indiana.edu. 2018-08-17.
- Steven Mintz . Winning the Vote: A History of Voting Rights . History Now . 2004 . 1.
- Web site: The Second Constitution of New York, 1821 . 3 February 2021.
- Web site: Bichefsky. Raya. LibGuides: Voting Resources: Voting in the United States: A Timeline. 2021-01-21. Pence Law Library Guides. en.
- Book: Pennsylvania. Constitutional Convention (1837-1838). Proceedings and debates of the Convention of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to propose amendments to the constitution, [microform] : commenced at Harrisburg, on the second day of May, 1837]. 1837. Harrisburg : Packer, Barrett and Parke. Harvard University.
- Web site: National Suffrage Timeline. 2021-01-21. Rochester Regional Library Council.
- William G. Shade, "The Second Party System". in Paul Kleppner, et al. Evolution of American Electoral Systems (1983) pp 77-111
- Web site: Warnes. Kathy. Rebellion, Murder, and Voting Rights in Rhode Island. 2021-01-20. History? Because it's Here!. en.
- Web site: 18 August 2020. Who got the right to vote when?. 2021-01-20. Al Jazeera. en.
- Book: Schultz. Jeffrey D.. Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics: Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. Aoki. Andrew L.. Haynie. Kerry L.. McCulloch. Anne M.. 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-1-57356-149-5. 528. en.
- Book: Scher, Richard K.. The Politics of Disenfranchisement: Why is it So Hard to Vote in America?. 2015-03-04. Routledge. 978-1-317-45536-3. 13. en.
- Web site: Schwartz. Diane. 26 February 2018. The Untold Story of Black Suffrage in Wisconsin. 2021-01-19. Madison365. en-US.
- Book: Noun, Louise R.. Strong-Minded Women: The Emergence of the Woman Suffrage Movement in Iowa. The Iowa State University PRess. 1969. 0813816025. Ames, Iowa. 84–85.
- Web site: US Suffrage Movement Timeline, 1792 to present. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130723040530/http://www.rochester.edu/SBA/suffragetimeline.html. July 23, 2013. 20 January 2021. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership at the University of Rochester.
- Web site: Legal Case of Minor v. Happersett. 2021-01-20. History of U.S. Woman's Suffrage. 30 September 2015 . National Women's History Museum. en-US.
- Web site: Tarter. Brent. Poll Tax. 2021-01-21. Encyclopedia Virginia.
- Web site: Contreras. Russell. 2018-11-01. AP Explains: How the Native American vote evolved. 2021-01-20. AP NEWS.
- Web site: 1896-01-04. Constitution of the State of Utah (Article IV Section 1).
- Web site: Voting Rights Act: Major Dates in History. 2021-01-21. American Civil Liberties Union. en.
- Web site: The History of Voting and Elections in Washington State. 20 January 2021. Washington Secretary of State.
- Web site: The Woman Suffrage Timeline. January 20, 2021. The Liz Library.
- Web site: AP Tests: AP Test Prep: The Expansion of Suffrage . . 10 January 2010 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20100110231456/http://www.cliffsnotes.com/Section/AP-Test-Prep-The-Expansion-of-Suffrage.id-305363%2CarticleId-58202.html . 10 January 2010 .
- Web site: Alaska and the 19th Amendment. 2021-01-20. U.S. National Park Service. en.
- Web site: A History of the American Suffragist Movement. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140108173202/http://www.suffragist.com/timeline.htm. 8 January 2014. 20 January 2021. The Moschovitis Group.
- Web site: Votes for Women! - The Battle Lost and Won - Page 2. 2020-08-15. Texas State Library TSLAC.
- Web site: Smith v. Allwright (1944) - White Primaries. 2021-01-21. The Texas Politics Project.
- Book: Madsen. Deborah L.. The Routledge Companion to Native American Literature. 2015. Routledge. 978-1-317-69319-2. 168.
- Web site: Today in History - June 2 . .
- Challenging American Boundaries: Indigenous People and the "Gift" of U.S. Citizenship. Kevin. Bruyneel. April 1, 2004. Studies in American Political Development. 18. 1. 30–43. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/S0898588X04000021. 145698348.
- Web site: Carney. Amy. Alaska's Suffrage Star: Home. 2020-11-12. Alaska Libraries, Archives, Museums. en.
- 10.1177/000271625731100113. American Indian Political Participation. 1957. Peterson. Helen L.. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 311. 116–126. 144617127.
- Web site: 2014-01-12. Lucy Nicolar Goes Far From a Maine Indian Reservation - And Then Returns. 2020-12-29. New England Historical Society. en-US.
- Maine State Museum. 2019. Maine Suffrage Who's Who. Women's Long Road. 10.
- Web site: Sisk. Amy R.. 30 November 2019. A century of suffrage: ND ratified 19th Amendment 100 years ago, granting women full voting rights. 2021-04-20. Bismarck Tribune. en.
- Web site: Baker v. Carr. Oyez. en. 2019-09-24.
- Web site: Wesberry v. Sanders. Oyez. en. 2019-09-24.
- Web site: One Person, One Vote The Constitution Project. www.theconstitutionproject.com. 2019-09-24.
- Web site: The Case That Could Bring Down 'One Person, One Vote'. Smith. J. Douglas. 2015-07-26. The Atlantic. en-US. 2019-09-24.
- News: One Man, One Vote: Decades of Court Decisions. Goldman. Ari L.. 1986-11-21. The New York Times. 2019-09-24. en-US. 0362-4331.
- Web site: 16 August 2020. What does Equal Suffrage mean?. 2021-02-20. History Colorado.
- Web site: Milestones in Voting History / Voting Rights and Citizenship. 2016-12-20. 2011-02-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20110227020344/http://www1.cuny.edu/portal_ur/content/voting_cal/milestones.html. dead.
- Book: Milutin Tomanović . 1972 . Hronika međunarodnih događaja 1971 . The Chronicle of International Events in 1971 . sh . 2608 . . .
- Web site: Congressional Research Service. Congressional Research Service. The Right to Travel. CRS Annotated Constitution. Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School. March 28, 2014.
- Book: Pascoe, Elaine. The Right To Vote. registration. 1997. The Millbrook press. United States. 9780761300663 .
- Web site: Porter. Nicole D.. 7 May 2020. Voting in Jails. 2021-01-20. The Sentencing Project. en-US.
- Web site: McLeod. Morgan. 17 October 2018. Expanding the Vote: Two Decades of Felony Disenfranchisement Reforms. 2021-01-20. The Sentencing Project. en-US.
- Web site: Chung. Jean. 27 June 2019. Felony Disenfranchisement: A Primer. 2021-01-20. The Sentencing Project. en-US.
- Web site: Voting Rights Act Reauthorization 2006 NAACP LDF. www.naacpldf.org. 2016-12-07.
- Web site: January 4, 2016. Felon Voting Rights. March 13, 2016. National Conference of State Legislatures.
- Web site: A Guide to the Supreme Court Decision on the Voting Rights Act. Schwartz. John. The New York Times. 2016-12-07.
- Bright. Alexander Douglas. Spring 2020. Pueblo Sovereignty and Voting Rights: Miguel Trujillo and a New Tactic for Self Determination. Old Dominion University History Theses and Dissertations. 62–63.
- Web site: 2020-04-24. North Dakota Native Voters Protected. 2021-04-19. Native American Rights Fund. en-US.
- Web site: The Supreme Court Deals A New Blow To Voting Rights, Upholding Arizona Restrictions. 2021-07-11. NPR.org. en.
- Web site: July 1, 2021. Brnovich, Attorney General of Arizona, et al. v. Democratic National Committee et al..
- News: Gov. Greg Abbott signs Texas voting bill into law, overcoming Democratic quorum breaks. Alexa. Ura. Texas Tribune. 7 September 2021. 7 September 2021.