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.
The
Constitution of the United States recognizes that the
states have the power to set voting requirements. By 1776, at least 60 percent of adult white males were able to vote, and by 1787 significantly more.[1] A few states allowed free Black men to vote, and New Jersey also included unmarried and widowed women who owned property.[2]
Georgia removes property requirement for voting.[3]
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.[4]
1791
Vermont is admitted as a new state, giving the vote to all men regardless of color or property ownership.[5]
1792
New Hampshire removes property ownership as requirement to vote.[6]
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.[5]
Delaware removes property ownership as requirement to vote, but continues to require that voters pay taxes.[3]
Voting rights are taken away from free black men and all women
in New Jersey.[2]
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.[7] 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.[8]
Maryland passes a law to allow
Jews to vote.[9] Maryland was the last state to remove religious restrictions for voting.[10]
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.[14]
The last state to abolish property qualification was
North Carolina.[10]
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.[15] In addition, many poor whites were later disenfranchised.[16][17]
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.[22]
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.
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.[29]
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.[citation needed]
1902
Virginia amends their state constitution to bring back the
poll tax as a requirement to vote.[23]
1910s
1910
Washington state restores women's right to vote through the state constitution.[24]
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.[35][36] Notwithstanding, some western states continued to bar Native Americans from voting until 1957.[37][38]South Dakota refused to follow the law.[39]
1925
Alaska passes a literacy test designed to disenfranchise
Alaska Native voters.[40]
Nixon v. Herndon is heard by the Supreme Court, which rules that white primary laws are unconstitutional.[34]
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.[34]
Grovey v. Townsend decides that the Democratic Party, as private organization, can determine who is allowed to join and therefore vote in the primaries.[34]
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.[34]
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.[38][42]
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.[citation needed]
Native Americans living on reservations earn the right to vote in
Maine.[43][44]
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.[45]
Protection of voter registration and voting for racial minorities, later applied to language minorities, is established by the
Voting Rights Act of 1965.[10] 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.[citation needed]
1966
Tax payment and wealth requirements for voting in state elections are prohibited by the Supreme Court in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections.[23] The poll tax would remain on the books, unenforceable, until 2020.
Requirement that a person reside in a jurisdiction for an extended period is prohibited by the Supreme Court in Dunn v. Blumstein,
405U.S.330 (1972).[55][56]
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.
The Voting Rights Act is modified to provide voters information in
Native American languages and other non-English languages.[59][10]
1980s
1982
A 25-year extension of the VRA is signed by President
Ronald Reagan.[28]
1983
Texas repeals the lifelong prohibition against voters with felony convictions and institutes a five year waiting period after completing a sentence to vote.[60]
1985
Texas changes the five year waiting period to two years for people with felony convictions.[60]
Texas ends the two year waiting period for people with felony convictions to restore voting rights.[57]
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.[60]
Delaware ends lifetime disenfranchisement for people with felony convictions for most offenses but institutes a five-year waiting period.[60]
2001
New Mexico ends lifetime disenfranchisement for people with a felony conviction.[57]
2005
Iowa restores the voting rights of felons who completed their prison sentences.[57]
Nebraska ends lifetime disenfranchisement of people with felonies but adds a five-year waiting period.[60]
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.[62]
Utah changes wording of their law and restores voting rights to all people who have completed their prison sentence for a felony.[60]
Rhode Island restores voting rights for people serving probation or parole for felonies.[57]
2007
Florida restores voting rights for most non-violent people with felony convictions.[57]
2009
Washington restores a person's right to vote if they have completed their sentences for a felony conviction.[63]
2010s
2010
Voting rights in New Jersey are restored to individuals serving probation and parole for felonies.[57]
2011
Florida changes their felony voting rules; felons must wait five years after sentencing and apply for their right to vote again.[57]
Iowa reverses their rule allowing felons who have completed their sentences to vote.[57]
Texas passes one of the most restrictive
voter ID laws in the country, but it is blocked by the courts.[28]
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.[64]
Delaware waives the five-year waiting period for voters with a felony conviction.[63]
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.[65]
2016
California allows prisoners in county jail to vote.[63]
Maryland restores voting rights to felons after they have served their term in prison.[63]
2017
Alabama publishes a list of crimes that can lead to disqualification of the right to vote.[63]
Wyoming restores the voting rights of non-violent felons.[63]
2018
The residential address law in North Dakota is upheld by the United States Supreme Court.[26]
Florida voting rights for people with a felony conviction is restored with some additional requirements needed in some cases.[63]
People with a felony conviction in
Louisiana who have not been incarcerated for five years (inclusive of probation or parole) are able to vote.[57]
People convicted of a felony may vote in Oklahoma after serving their full sentence, including parole and other types of probation.[63]
2020s
2020
California restores voting rights to citizens serving
parole.[63]
Washington, D.C. passes a law to allow incarcerated felons to vote.[63]
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.[63]
People with a felony conviction in New Jersey can vote after release from prison; citizens on parole or probation can also vote.[63]
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.[67][68]
Texas enacts sweeping legislation that further tightens state election laws and constrains local control of elections by limiting counties’ ability to expand voting options.[69]
^Engerman & Sokoloff 2005, p. 14"Property- or tax-based qualifications were most strongly entrenched in the original thirteen states, and dramatic political battles took place at a series of prominent state constitutional conventions held during the late 1810s and 1820s."
^Peterson, Helen L. (1957). "American Indian Political Participation". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 311: 116–126.
doi:
10.1177/000271625731100113.
S2CID144617127.