Voting Procedures
Why you should stay informed and vote, By: Andrew Devaney
Registering to Vote
To register for voting, you must have proof of your citizenship, address, and age in the form of your birth certificate. As of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, you may register to vote while renewing your drivers' license.
Qualifications to Vote
- United States citizen
- 18 years old
- Resident of the state you are voting in 25 days before elections
- Have not committed a felony
Steps in Voting
- Ensure that you are registered to vote
- Locate a polling place (schools, churches, town hall, etc.)
- Ensure that you are informed on the political situation of the U.S.
- Have proof of identification
- Go to polling place on Election Day (first Tuesday after the first Monday in November)
- Vote
Reasons People Do/Don't Vote
- Vote: Voting is your voice in the government, allows you to choose your leadership, voting is a civic responsibility, and allows you to make a change if you were dissatisfied with the last official by not reelecting them.
- Don't Vote: Apathy, unqualified of unregistered, and not being well enough informed.
- Voting Fatigue: Lack of caring when you reach the end of a ballot, causing you to make decisions based on your state of mind, rather than what is the best for your country, or for what you believe in.
Suffrage Timeline
- 1870- Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the denying of a person's right to vote on the according to race.
- 1920- Nineteenth Amendment gives women the right to vote.
- 1960- Civil Rights Act of 1960 gives penalties for obstructing someone's voting rights.
- 1964- Prohibits the use of a poll tax in national elections.
- 1971- Twenty-sixth Amendment lowers the minimum age for voting to 18 for all elections.
Suffrage Amendments
- 15th: Given the right to vote to African-American males.
- 17th: Given the voters the right to directly elect their senators. More influence through voting.
- 19th: Gave women the right to vote.
- 23rd: Residents of Washington D.C. are given the right to vote.
- 24th: Eliminated poll taxes to ensure that all citizens had equal opportunities to vote.