There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. How many amendments address voting rights?

There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. How many amendments address voting rights?

• A. Two
• B. Four
• C. Three
• D. One

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that voting rights are addressed by amendments that explicitly define who may vote or remove barriers to voting. There are four such amendments: one prohibits denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude; another prohibits denying the right to vote based on sex; another bans poll taxes in federal elections; and the last lowers the voting age to 18. Each of these changes broadens or protects the franchise for different groups, making four amendments directly about who can vote. Other changes in the Constitution that affect elections, like how representatives or senators are chosen, alter election mechanics but don’t specify eligibility to vote, so they aren’t counted among these voting-rights amendments.

The main idea is that voting rights are addressed by amendments that explicitly define who may vote or remove barriers to voting. There are four such amendments: one prohibits denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude; another prohibits denying the right to vote based on sex; another bans poll taxes in federal elections; and the last lowers the voting age to 18. Each of these changes broadens or protects the franchise for different groups, making four amendments directly about who can vote. Other changes in the Constitution that affect elections, like how representatives or senators are chosen, alter election mechanics but don’t specify eligibility to vote, so they aren’t counted among these voting-rights amendments.