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The federal vote is now open to Canadians regardless of provincial exclusions. Japanese, Chinese and other Asian Canadians can vote federally, no matter which province they live in. 1950: Inuit are able to vote: Inuit obtain the right to vote in Canadian federal elections. 1960: First Nations women and men can vote
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Parliament passes legislation lowering the federal voting age from 21 to 18. This adds two million Canadians to the electoral rolls. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms affirms the right of every Canadian citizen 18 and older to vote and to stand as a candidate.
- Constitution Leaves States in Charge of Voting
- Black Men, Women Get Right to Vote
- Native Americans, Asian Americans Gain Rights
- Voting Rights Act of 1965
- Accessibility Becomes Requirement
- Supreme Court Walks Back Voting Rights Act
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August 2, 1776: Declaration of Independence Frames Voters' Rights In the Declaration of Independence, signed on this day, Thomas Jeffersonwrites, "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed." June 21, 1788: Voting Left to States The U.S. Constitution is adopted on this date, but in lieu of a fe...
February 3, 1870: Black Men Granted the Right to Vote The 15th Amendmentis ratified, granting Black men the right to vote and Congress the power to enforce the right. However, laws, including poll taxes, literacy tests and grandfather clauses, are enacted in mostly Southern states, suppressing Black voting rights until 1965. August 18, 1920: Women ...
June 2, 1924: Native Americans Granted the Right to Vote Congress enacts the Indian Citizenship Act, granting the right to vote to Native Americans born in the United States. Despite its passage, some states continue to bar Native Americans from voting. 1943 Chinese Exclusion Act Ends In the wake of World War II when the United States and China had...
August 6, 1965: Voting Rights Act President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act into law, banning literacy tests and enforcing the 15th Amendment on a federal level. It also provides for federal examiners who can register voters in certain jurisdictions. Facing a flurry of legal challenges, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds its constitutionality in a ...
September 28, 1984: Voting Is Made Accessible The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Actof 1984 is signed into law by Reagan, requiring polling places in federal elections to be accessible for people with disabilities and the elder. It also states that if no accessible location is available, an alternative way to vote on Election ...
June 25, 2013: Voting Rights Act Walked Back In Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, rules that Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional, holding that the constraints placed on certain states and federal review of states' voting procedures, known as preclearance, are outdated. Seen as a blow to civil righ...
Voting Rights: A Short History, Carnegie Corporation The Fight for the Right to Vote, Pence Law Library Guides The 19th Amendment, U.S. National Archives History of Federal Voting Rights Laws, U.S. Department of Justice The Twenty-Sixth Amendment, U.S. Constitution Center The Americans With Disabilities Act and Other Federal Laws Protecting the Rig...
- Lesley Kennedy
In 1918, a federal law was passed that ensured no one could be denied the right to vote in a federal election due to their gender. Even that wasn’t the end of the story, though. In Quebec, women only won the right to vote provincially in 1940, after many years of activism and advocacy.
Learn about the complicated history of Voting Rights in Canada. The right to vote in Canada has not been straightforward. Race, ethnicity, and gender were often factors in determining who had the right to vote, a right that, once earned, could be taken away. This timeline is not comprehensive.
In 1982, Canadians' democratic right to vote was enshrined permanently in the Constitution as part of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter also provided Canadians with a way to argue for expanded voting rights.
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Mar 18, 2007 · The Canadian franchise dates from the mid-18th-century colonial period. At that time, restrictions effectively limited the right to vote to male property holders. Since then, voting qualifications and the categories of eligible voters have expanded according to jurisdiction.
