The Oregon v. Mitchell Supreme Court case in 1970 gave added motivation for supporters of lowering the voting age to push for a constitutional amendment to reduce the national voting age to 18.

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The Vietnam War motivated the states to take up the ratification process for the Twenty-sixth Amendment with a sense of urgency.

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The Twenty-sixth Amendment mandates that federal and state legislatures not interfere with the right to vote of citizens eighteen years of age or older in federal, state, and local elections.

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On today's podcast we learn how Shelby County v. Holder changed the Voting Rights Act.

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The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a step in the right direction, but it did not protect voting rights. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits discrimination based on race, eliminates literacy tests, poll taxes, and discriminatory voter registration practices. It also requires voting materials and assistance in appropriate languages in places with significant numbers of voters who do not speak English.

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Both the the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 were meant to eliminate interference with the right to vote. Both of the acts paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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Native Americans were often deprived of their right to vote until Congress took action.

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In several states, Native Americans are viewed as an increasingly important voting bloc. Only in 1924 did the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 extend the right to Native Americans, but the states continued to block Native access to the polls until at least 1965.

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The Framers considered Native Americans to be members of their tribes, not citizens of the United States, and were not allowed to vote.

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As the United States entered World War I, pressure to recognize the right of women to vote increased. After the war, women launched a national campaign that included huge parades, demonstrations, picketing, and civil disobedience in Washington, D.C. The Nineteenth Amendment was finally adopted in 1920.

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