People who have struggled to win the right to vote know how important it is. Although, since 1789, suffrage has expanded to include many more people-- notably African Americans and women-- many Americans do not exercise this important right. A variety of factors influence whether and how people vote.
Successful democratic government depends on the participation of its citizens through voting. The history of the United States has been marked by a steady expansion of the electorate through the elimination of restrictions on voting qualifications.
All States have citizenship, residence, and age requirements for voting. Other voting qualifications differ from State to State. Some requirements—especially those that were used to disenfranchise certain groups—have been eliminated over time.
The 15th Amendment declared that the right to vote cannot be denied on account of race. Nevertheless, a variety of tactics were used in southern States to disenfranchise African Americans. The Supreme Court struck down a number of these efforts, and, beginning in the 1950s, Congress passed laws to protect minority voting rights.
Low voter turnout is a serious problem in this country. Among those who do vote, sociological and psychological factors work together to influence voter behavior over time and in particular elections.
Why have people risked their lives to get and keep the right to vote? In the United states, we tend to take this right for granted. Yet if we were deprived of it, we would surely come to recognize its great value. Even though the voting process may vary slightly from place to place, generally they are about the same. Here are the steps.
"It is not enough that people have the right to vote... People must have the reason to vote as well." -Jesse Jackson (1988)
