Timeline of Voting Rights in the United States

The right to vote is a hallmark of democratic governments. The strength of a democracy can be measured by its free and fair elections that give equal voice to all eligible citizens. Since the founding of the United States in 1776, the federal and state governments have wrestled with the question of who should be eligible to vote and how their rights should be enshrined and protected. Voting rights have expanded and contracted—through landmark legislation, constitutional amendments, and U.S. Supreme Court decisions—throughout history, reflecting the evolution of the American democratic project and ultimately embracing the diversity of the electorate.