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RISE OF DEMOCRATIC POLITICS
In 1821, elections were largely undemocratic because of tax polls and only white land-owning men could vote. Between 1820-1840, the election system when through a change, repealing the property owning proponent of voting. Voting by voice was also largely eliminated. States held conventions to nominate people. Also opened more polling places and had the places opened longer, however, this was implemented more in the 1880s. -
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15th Amendment PT 1
The 15th Amendment granted African American Men the right to vote. This technically granted African American Men the right to vote, since it is an Amendment to the Constitution, however, the South enacted the Jim Crow laws, which passed things like a literacy test to vote on the polls. So these "laws" prevented many African Americans to vote. -
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15th Amendment PT 2
However, since the 15th Amendment said "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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude," it technically allowed for any person (man at the time) to vote. -
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19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote, and it allows for women to vote since it is stated federally and an Amendment, so it makes it hard to repeal it. "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." -
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Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
This act official granted all Native Americans citizenship. This allows for Native Americans the right to vote because with the 15th Amendment, it allows for all citizens to vote no matter race, gender, etc. This protects the right to vote because with this law, no one can consider Natives "non citizens" thus they are allowed to vote. -
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MCCARRAN WALTER ACT OF 1952
This Act abolished the "alien ineligible to citizenship" from the Immigration Act of '24. This allowed for many Asian Americans to become citizens and thus with the 15th Amendment, they were able to vote. Since this act grants Asian Americans citizenship, this act protects voting rights by not allowing for someone's citizenship to be taken away based on fear. -
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23rd Amendment
The 23rd Amendment extended voting rights to people who live in Washington DC. It allows for the people of DC to have a voice, since it technically wasn't a state the people living there had no way to vote for president nor did they have representation in Congress (since 1801). This protects the voting rights of the people of DC because it is an Amendment and is extremely hard to change :). -
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24th Amendment
This Amendment banned the use of poll taxes for federal elections. This protects the poor people trying to vote because if they couldn't pay the tax, then they wouldn't be able to vote. Since the tax was gone, it would allow for more poor people to vote. -
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Voting Rights Act of 1965
This Act banned states from having qualifications/practices that denied anyone the right to vote based on race. This reaffirms previous acts/amendments made before along with guaranteeing things like the Jim Crow laws. This act protects the right to vote because it basically says "Hey! You can't deny ANYONE the right to vote because of their skin color." -
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26th Amendment
This Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 in local, state, and federal elections. This expands voting rights to younger people and it protects voting rights because it is an amendment to a federal law. -
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VRA Reauthorization Act of 1975
This Act reaffirms a previous act that stated that voting polls cannot deny/must provide translations to anyone who cannot speak English well. This expands voting rights to immigrants because it allows for them to read the ballot easier, thus allowing them to vote. This act protects voting rights because it does not allow for voter discrimination based on if the citizen cannot speak English well. -
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Voting Accessibility For Elderly and Handicapped Act
This act mandated that all polling places should be accessible for people who have a disability/cannot walk properly. This expands voting rights to old people and people with disabilities. This protects voting rights because it doesn't allow for polling places to not be accessible, meaning it will allow for a lot of old people to vote and people with disabilities to vote.