Voting Rights Amendments

The United States Constitution is often called a “living document”. This means that it may have to changed or amended. One example is voting rights. Voting rights have been amended in The Constitution several times. Before some of these amendments, not everyone was able to vote. The amendments listed below gave the right to vote to more U.S. citizens. 

 The 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870. Ratified means that it was made official. This amendment protects citizens from being denied the right to based on race, or former slave status. Before this amendment African Americans and/or former slaves were not allowed to vote. This amendment clearly stated that all men over the age 21 would be able to vote. The 15th amendment was accepted after slavery was outlawed. Unfortunately even after the amendment, African Americans would still face obstacles in order to vote. They were required to pay toll taxes and take literacy tests. 

The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. This amendment granted women the right to vote. Before this amendment, women were not able to vote in certain types of elections. This amendment guaranteed that woman had just as might right to vote as men. Women had been working towards the right to vote for nearly 100 years. This amendment is often referred to as the Women's Suffrage Amendment

The 23rd amendment was ratified in 1961. This amendment granted the citizens of Washington D.C. to vote in federal elections, such as for the U.S. President. Through this amendment, the citizens gained representation in the electoral college. This means that citizens of Washington D.C. now had a voice in the federal government. 

The 24th amendment was ratified in 1964. This amendment made poll taxes illegal. A poll tax is a tax that is required before someone can place their vote. Before this amendment, some people were not able to vote due to the cost of the tax. This amendment allowed everyone, regardless of their money, to be able to cast a vote. 

The 26th amendment was ratified in 1971. This amendment changed the voting age. It lowered the age to vote from 21 to 18. Before this amendment, soldiers in the Vietnam were drafted to fight, but they could not vote. Many citizens and soldiers thought that this was unfair. The 26th amendment gave the right to vote to any American who was 18 years old or older.