The Long Ballot: A Timeline of the American Vote
In 1789, roughly six percent of Americans could vote. Today, nearly every citizen 18 and older can. The Long Ballot tells that story as you scroll: property requirements falling, amendments extending the franchise, and the fights that made each expansion real. Every era links to the election data behind it.
Tap any era chip to jump into the data explorer for those years, or look up unfamiliar terms in the Civic Glossary.
The Long Ballot
Two and a half centuries ago, almost no one could vote. Scroll to watch the American electorate grow, one hard-won expansion at a time.
A republic for the few
When the first president was chosen, voting was largely limited to white men who owned property. Most elections were decided by legislatures, not a popular vote. The circle of the electorate was tiny.
The property bar drops
State by state, the requirement to own land fell away for white men. Turnout surged as a broader public stepped into elections for the first time, and the popular vote began to matter more than the legislature.
The 15th Amendment
After the Civil War, the Constitution barred denying the vote based on race. On paper, millions of Black men gained the franchise. In practice, the decades that followed brought obstacles designed to take it back.
Women win the vote
The 19th Amendment nearly doubled the electorate in a single stroke, barring the denial of the vote on the basis of sex. It was the largest single expansion of voting rights in the nation's history.
The Voting Rights Act
The promise of 1870 was finally enforced. Literacy tests and other barriers were struck down, and federal oversight protected access to the ballot. Registration among long-excluded voters climbed sharply.
Old enough to vote
"Old enough to fight, old enough to vote." The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18, bringing millions of young Americans into the electorate during the Vietnam era.
The widest circle yet
Nearly every adult citizen can now cast a ballot. The story isn't finished, access, turnout, and trust are still contested, but the circle that began with a tiny few now reaches almost everyone.
You're part of the longest ballot in history.
Pick an era and dive straight into the real results, or start your own private voting record.