Final answer:
Voting rights in the U.S. have expanded from initially serving only land-owning white males to eventually including all citizens, regardless of race or gender, due to amendments and critical legislations like the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The VRA was later challenged by the Shelby County v. Holder decision, which led to changes in state-level election laws.
Step-by-step explanation:
The expansion of voting rights in the United States has been an evolutionary process marked by significant legal and societal changes.
Initially, only land-holding white males were permitted to vote in federal elections, but societal shifts, such as the growth of the middle class during the Industrial Revolution, led to the gradual extension of voting privileges to additional groups.
The formal recognition of this right for poor white men, African Americans, and women came with the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment (1870) and the Nineteenth Amendment (1920), respectively.
Disenfranchisement of Black voters prompted the enactment of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965, a pivotal piece of legislation that banned racial discrimination in voting practices. This Act empowered the federal government to oversee elections and registration in areas with a history of discrimination.
However, in the Shelby County v. Holder (2013) Supreme Court decision, key provisions of the VRA were invalidated, transferring decision-making power for election policies back to the states and local governments, leading to various changes in voter ID laws and election regulations.
Today, restrictions such as poll taxes have been abolished by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment (1964), and the majority of American citizens enjoy the right to vote, which is essential for voicing their political will and effecting change.