Historic Recordings of Voting in the United States

When we think of voting in the United States today, we tend to take it for granted.  In fact, we take the right to vote for granted so much that it could very easily be taken away from us too.  To understand voting in the United States, one must understand the history of voting.

In 1787 when the Constitution was ratified, those who could vote in the United States was very specific.  At the time, only white males age 21 years and who owned land could vote.  By the time the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified to the Constitution it granted full citizenship rights including the right to vote to all men who were born in the United States or who became a naturalized citizen.

The next big test for voting rights would take place through 1920 when the Suffragist Movement started.  The verbiage of the Nineteenth Amendment states that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.  That election year, 1920, women went to the polls in overwhelming numbers and pulled the lever for Warren G. Harding.  100 years later, it seemed fitting that the first woman vice president, Kamala Harris was elected. 

By the 1940s, a state like Georgia was one of the few to allow 18 year olds to vote.  Over the next twenty plus years; particularly during the Vietnam Era it became more of an issue as 18 year olds were being drafted to fight in a war in Southeast Asia but had no political say until the age of 21 years.  That would all be remedied in 1971 with the addition of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

While the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, nearly 100 years had passed and African-Americans still could not enjoy the right to vote in free and fair elections.  States like Alabama would make African-Americans do inappropriate tasks like counting how many beans were in a jar before they could cast a ballot.   Civil Rights leaders like John Lewis would march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965, known as Bloody Sunday to cause as John Lewis called it, "good trouble" to guarantee African-Americans' right to vote.  President Lyndon Johnson addressed a Joint Session of Congress to talk about the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  On May 26, 1965, the United States Senate passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 77 to 19 with with only Senators from Southern states voting against it.  The United States House of Representatives would pass the bill by a vote of 333 to 85 on July 9, 1965.  The president would sign the bill on August 6, 1965.  

The 2000 Election was hard fought, and close. It came down to around 500 votes in the state of Florida which triggered recounts.  After court hearings in the Florida Supreme Court and the landmark Supreme Court Case, Bush v Gore; the Election was declared for Governor George W. Bush winning 271 Electoral Votes to Vice President Al Gore's 266 Electoral Votes.  Gore did win the popular vote.

Since the 1970s, the real issue that was taunting free and fair elections was big money in politics.  While the Buckley case in 1976 laid the foundation for this practice, Citizens United made it more permanent.  

By 2020, there was a controversy over the process by which Americans were voting.  Because of COVID-19, and no vaccine at the time, more Americans opted to vote by mail to avoid contracting the virus.  The general rule in elections is when more Americans vote, Democrats tend to win elections.  In that election, Former Vice President Joe Biden won over President Donald Trump with 81 million votes the most ever won by a presidential candidate.  This outcome sparked cries of a rigged election by the defeated president and his VERY loyal supporters.  This feeling was so strong that many Trump supporters attended a Stop the Steal rally in Washington, DC in support of Donald Trump.  What happened was unimaginable as some at the rally stormed the US Capitol to stop the certification of the Electoral Vote declaring Joe Biden the next President and Kamala Harris the next Vice President.

Since the DC Riot, several states have worked to pass election laws making it more difficult to vote in some areas.  MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell went around declaring fraud with the evidence ready to show at a three day FrankSpeech symposium offering anyone $5 million to prove him wrong.  Donald Trump would still go around the country and on the media declaring 2020 was stolen.

So with future elections yet to be observed, it is important that we understand the history of voting.  This collection is dedicated to that sacred right of every American citizen.

See also: Presidential Election 2000.