While the nation watches President Trump push for greater federal oversight of elections, the story of who can vote in America stretches back more than two centuries. States have long been the architects of the franchise, expanding it in some eras and retracting it in others.
Early State Experiments
Before the federal Constitution was drafted, Vermont set a bold precedent in 1777 by eliminating property and tax‑paying requirements for voting. The move was tied to the revolutionary actions of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys, who fought New York’s claims over the territory. Their struggle was about land and sovereignty, but it created a political environment that allowed any adult man who took the Freeman’s Oath to vote.
When the U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1787, it deliberately left voting qualifications to the states. Each state could decide who counted as “the people” for its legislature and, by extension, for its congressional representatives.
Inconsistent Expansions and Contractions
Massachusetts in 1780 dropped racial exclusions but kept property ownership as a prerequisite, meaning a free Black man with land could vote while a poor white man could not. Pennsylvania first extended the vote to tax‑paying men, then limited it to white men only in 1838.
New Jersey briefly allowed property‑owning women and Black men to vote under its 1776 Constitution and a 1790 election law, only to rescind those rights in 1807, limiting the franchise to “free, white male” citizens.
Non‑Citizen Voting in the West
During the 19th‑century westward expansion, several territories used voting rights to attract settlers. Wisconsin, in 1848, let immigrants vote after two years of residence and a declaration of intent to become citizens. Michigan, Indiana, Oregon, and Minnesota soon followed, and parts of the South and West adopted similar policies.
By the late 1800s, rising xenophobia—especially during World War I—prompted states to repeal non‑citizen voting. Arkansas was the last state to end the practice in 1926.
From the Right to Vote to the Right to Representation
Legal scholar Gerhard Casper argued in 1976 that American debates have focused on the “right to be a voter” rather than the harder question of whether votes translate into representation. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 sought to address both issues, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting and giving courts a tool (Section 2) to challenge maps that dilute minority voting power.
Modern Redistricting Battles
Today, the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Callais v. Louisiana struck down the state’s second majority‑Black congressional district and narrowed the application of Section 2. While the ruling does not remove anyone from voter rolls, it reduces legal protection against district lines that weaken the political influence of certain votes.
This development echoes earlier periods when states altered voting rules without removing voters outright—shifting property, gender, or citizenship requirements. History shows that the rules governing who can vote and how those votes are counted are always subject to change, sometimes moving backward.
Why It Matters for Citizens
Understanding this long‑standing ebb and flow helps voters recognize that the fight over election maps is not new. The Constitution grants states primary authority over voting qualifications, but federal statutes like the Voting Rights Act provide safeguards against discriminatory practices. As courts reinterpret those safeguards, citizens must stay informed and engaged to ensure that their votes retain both the right to be cast and the power to be represented.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
