amendments

15th amendment

States cannot deny people the right to vote because of race

17th amendment

Established the direct election of senators (instead of being chosen by state legislatures)

19th amendment

States cannot deny the right to vote based on gender

23rd Amendment

Gives Washington DC electoral college votes as if it were a state (DC still has no representation in Congress)

24th Amendment

States cannot issue poll taxes as a voting requirement

26th Amendment

States cannot deny the right to vote based on age (18+)

suffrage

the right to vote

poll tax

making people pay a fee to vote (outlawed by the 24th amendment)

candidate

a person running for office

ballot

the device used by voters to make their choices

congressional district

the geographic area(s) within a state that members of the House of Representatives are elected from

Primaries/Caucuses

preliminary elections that are used to select which candidates will appear on the ballot in a general elections

General Election

elections that are used to determine which candidates on the ballot will hold office (ex: Governor, Senator, Representative, President, etc)

naturalization step 1

18yrs or older

naturalization step 2

live in US legally for 5 yrs (greencard/visa)

naturalization step 3

pass a test on US gov. and history

naturalization step 4

read, speak, and write in english

naturalization step 5

pass an FBI background check

naturalization step 6

take an oath of allegiance

bloodline citizenship

at least one parent is a US citizen

birthright citizenship

born in US

naturalization

a citizen from another country goes through a process to apply for US citizenship

total number of EC votes in US

538

EC votes needed to win

270