JusticeLearning : Issues

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	1787
	Establishment of the Electoral College

	1792
	New Hampshire Eliminates Property Requirement

	1804
	12th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified

	November 1824
	Presidential Election of 1824

	1856
	Propery qualification for voting eliminated

	1869
	National Woman Suffrage Association and American Woman Suffrage Association founded

	1869
	Wyoming gives women the right to vote

	1870
	15th Amendment is ratified

	November 1876
	Presidential election of 1876

	1883
	Pendleton Act

	1888
	Louisville, Kentucky, adopts secret ballot

	1910
	Federal Corrupt Practices Act

	1911
	Congress sets number of House seats

	1913
	17th Amendment is ratified

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1913
17th Amendment is ratified

The 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution called for the direct election of Senators by popular vote in each state. Prior to the passage of this Amendment, senators were chosen by state legislatures. Seen as a reform measure that would increase direct voter participation and reduce cronyism, the amendment reads: "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote."

	Read a related New York Times article. ©07/21/1913 Source:The New York Times
	View the full text of the Amendment. Source:The National Archives
	View the Amendment to the Joint Resolution that became the Seventeenth Amendment. Source:The National Archives

	1915
	"Jim Crow" laws struck down

	1920
	19th Amendment is ratified

	1920
	League of Women Voters created

	1921
	Congressional campaign finance laws struck down

	1935
	Political parties can exclude racial minorities

	1937
	Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1937 requires equal time for candidates

	1937
	Poll taxes upheld as constitutional

	1939
	The Hatch Act

	1940
	Franklin Delano Roosevelt wins third term

	1941
	Supreme Court Says Congress Has Authority to Pass Campaign Finance Laws

	1944
	In another reversal, Supreme Court says political parties cannot discriminate because of race

	1946
	Uneven voting districts allowed

	1955
	The Federal Voting Assistance Act

	1959
	Literacy tests for voting struck down

	1961
	23rd Amendment ratified

	1961
	John F. Kennedy establishes Commission on Campaign Costs

	1962
	Legislative voting districts must be relatively equal in size

	1964
	Georgia's "county unit" voting system struck down

	1964
	24th Amendment is ratified

	1964
	The Civil Rights Act of 1964

	1965
	Voting Rights Act of 1965

	1966
	Poll taxes ruled unconstitutional

	1970
	McGovern-Fraser Commission created by Democratic Party

	1970
	Congress strengthens Voting Rights Act of 1965

	1971
	26th Amendment is ratified

	1971
	The Federal Election Campaign Act

	1972
	"Durational residency" rule found unconstitutional

	1973
	Texas redistricting found unconstitutional

	1974
	Convicted felons not allowed to vote

	1974
	Gerald Ford ascends to Presidency

	1974
	Equal time for candidates to respond to the press violates the First Amendment

	1975
	Federal Elections Commission established

	1975
	Congress again strengthens Voting Rights Act of 1965

	1975
	Overseas Citizen Voting Rights Act

	1976
	Court strikes down limits on campaign spending, but upholds limits on campaign contributions

	1980
	Challenging constitutionality of voting district lines must include discriminatory intent

	1982
	Congress again strengthens Voting Rights Act of 1965

	1984
	The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act

	1986
	The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act

	1988
	"Super Tuesday"

	1990
	Americans with Disabilities Act

	1993
	The National Voter Registration Act

	1993
	North Carolina redistricting plan called unconstitutional "racial gerrymandering"

	1995
	States cannot limit terms of federal candidates

	1998
	Oregon holds vote-by-mail election

	2000
	Presidential Election of 2000

	2000
	Contested election goes to the U.S. Supreme Court

	2002
	Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act

	2002
	Help America Vote Act of 2002

	2003
	Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act challenged

	2004
	Record spending in the 2004 campaign

	November 2004
	Controversy in Washington

	2006
	Supreme Court finds limits to campaign contributions unconstitutional

	2006
	Congressional lines are at state's discretion

	2008
	Court Upholds Voter Photo ID Law