AP Gov Voting Rights

14th Amendment

• extended citizenship to all persons born in the United States

• increased citizenship and the ability to vote, especially among immigrant groups

• this would aid the 15th Amendment by granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people

15th Amendment

• prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, color, etc

• expanded suffrage and political representation to all American men

17th Amendment

• senators have to be directly elected by their constituents

• gave power directly to voters by allowing them to influence votes → balanced the power of the federal government and the people

19th Amendment

• granted women the right to vote by denying suffrage based on sex

• brought in millions of new voters

• empowered women in politics

• led to the formation of groups lobbying for women’s issues

Voting Rights Act of 1965

• outlawed discriminatory voting practices like literacy tests and poll taxes

• increased voter registration and participation for racial minorities

24th Amendment

• prohibited Congress and states from requiring a poll tax and any other taxes to vote in federal elections

• gave African Americans and poorer Americans more access to voter registration and polling

26th Amendment

• lowered national voting age from 21 to 18

• increased voter base and gave young American men in the military more representation

Recall

allows voters to remove an elected official through a petition and special election

Referendum

allows voters to vote directly on a specific law or policy that they can approve, reject, or overturn

Initiative

allows voters to propose new laws or constitutional amendments by collecting signatures to place them on a ballot