In case you have been living in a cave for the past year, you may not know that voting season is upon us. There have been many complaints from unsatisfied citizens about how our country is being ruled. Luckily, we live in a democracy. This means if you don't like how things are going, you have the power to change things by using your right to vote. Now some people don't use this right. They say, my vote won't count, or I don’t like anyone who is running for this office, I don't have time, or I will be out of town. Being able to vote has not always been the easy process it is today. I would like to share with you the history of voting:
When the Constitution was written, only white male property owners (about 10 to 16 percent of the nation's population) had the vote. Over the past two centuries, though, the term "government by the people" has become a reality. During the early 1800s, states gradually dropped property requirements for voting. Later, groups that had been excluded previously gained the right to vote. Other reforms made the process fairer and easier.
1790
1790 Only white male adult property-owners have the right to vote.
1800
1810
1810 Last religious prerequisite for voting is eliminated.
1820
1840
1850 Property ownership and tax requirements eliminated by 1850. Almost all adult white males could vote.
1855 Connecticut adopts the nation's first literacy test for voting. Massachusetts follows suit in 1857. The tests were implemented to discriminate against Irish-Catholic immigrants.
1860
1870 The 15th Amendment is passed. It gives former slaves the right to vote and protects the voting rights of adult male citizens of any race.
1880
1889 Florida adopts a poll tax. Ten other southern states will implement poll taxes.
1890 Mississippi adopts a literacy test to keep African Americans from voting. Numerous other states—not just in the south—also establish literacy tests. However, the tests also exclude many whites from voting. To get around this, states add grandfather clauses that allow those who could vote before 1870, or their descendants, to vote regardless of literacy or tax qualifications.
1900
1910
1913 The 17th Amendment calls for members of the U.S. Senate to be elected directly by the people instead of State Legislatures.
1915 Oklahoma was the last state to append a grandfather clause to its literacy requirement (1910). In Guinn v. United States the Supreme Court rules that the clause is in conflict with the 15th Amendment, thereby outlawing literacy tests for federal elections.
1920
1920 The 19th Amendment guarantees women's suffrage.
1924 Indian Citizenship Act grants all Native Americans the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote in federal elections.
1930
1940
1944 The Supreme Court outlaws "white primaries" in Smith v. Allwright (Texas). In Texas, and other states, primaries were conducted by private associations, which, by definion, could exclude whomever they chose. The Court declares the nomination process to be a public process bound by the terms of 15th Amendment.
1950
1957 The first law to implement the 15th amendment, the Civil Rights Act, is passed. The Act set up the Civil Rights Commission—among its duties is to investigate voter discrimination.
1960
1960 In Gomillion v. Lightfoot (Alabama) the Court outlaws "gerrymandering."
1961 The 23rd Amendment allows voters of the District of Columbia to participate in presidential elections.
1964 The 24th Amendment bans the poll tax as a requirement for voting in federal elections.
1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., mounts a voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama, to draw national attention to African-American voting rights.
1965 The Voting Rights Act protects the rights of minority voters and eliminates voting barriers such as the literacy test. The Act is expanded and renewed in 1970, 1975, and 1982.
1966 The Supreme Court, in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, eliminates the poll tax as a qualification for voting in any election. A poll tax was still in use in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia.
1966 The Court upholds the Voting Rights Act in South Carolina v. Katzenbach.
1970
1970 Literacy requirements are banned for five years by the 1970 renewal of the Voting Rights Act. At the time, eighteen states still have a literacy requirement in place. In Oregon v. Mitchell, the Court upholds the ban on literacy tests, which is made permanent in 1975. Judge Hugo Black, writing the court's opinion, cited the "long history of the discriminatory use of literacy tests to disenfranchise voters on account of their race" as the reason for their decision.
1971 The 26th amendment sets the minimum voting age at 18.
1972 In Dunn v. Blumstein, the Supreme Court declares that lengthy residence requirements for voting in state and local elections is unconstitutional and suggests that 30 days is an ample period.
1980
1990
1995 The Federal "Motor Voter Law" takes effect, making it easier to register to vote.
2000
2003 Federal Voting Standards and Procedures Act requires states to streamline registration, voting, and other election procedures.
Read more: U.S. Voting Rights http://www.infoplease.com/timelines/voting.html#ixzz1Ygd2LmEX
As you can see, originally, only 10 to 16% of the nation's population had the right to vote. In the past 220 years there have been many changes (amendments) made to the constitution that allows nearly all citizens the right to vote. These changes were not made easily or overnight. People fought and died for their right to vote. When I think about what those people went through just to be able to vote in an election, and then the young people of today who don't even care about voting, I really get frustrated.
I was thrilled to be able to register to vote, One of the first things I did on my 18th birthday was to go to the courthouse to register. I just couldn’t imagine everyone not going to register on their birthday. I am reminded of the song in Mary Poppins where Mrs. Banks, the mother of the two children, is fighting for Women's right to vote. In the song she sings..." Our daughter's daughters will adore us." Since women were given the right to vote in 1920, I guess that song means me!
I am so thankful that these women, who went through so much, fought for my right to go to the poles and cast my vote for someone I thought would be the best person for the job.
If you have recently moved, or never got around to registering to vote, now is your chance. You have the right to make a change in our country, so go register today and make it happen.
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