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U.S. Voting Rights Timeline

1976

  • Voting for white male landowners

  • State-set rules

  • No federal rights

1790

  • Naturalization Act

  • Citizenship for “free white persons”

  • Voting tied to citizenship

1848

  • Seneca Falls Convention

  • Call for women’s voting rights

1920

  • 19th Amendment ratified

  • Women gain vote nationwide

1971

  • 26th Amendment ratified

  • Voting age lowered to 18

  • Vietnam-era reform

1789

  • Constitution ratified

  • States control voting

  • No national standard

1820s - 1830s

  • Property limits dropped

  • White male suffrage expands

1870

  • 15th Amendment ratified

  • Voting can’t be denied by race

  • Black men enfranchised

1965

  • Voting Rights Act

  • Bans racial discrimination

  • Federal election oversight

2020

  • COVID-19 pandemic

  • Mail-in voting expands

  • Major election changes

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