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Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4 | Concluding Activity

Section 1: Who are Voters

History and stages of voting rights:
Center for Civic Education:
Fair Votes:
Have students:
  • create their own timeline
  • After completing lesson plans in Section 1C, use this tool to have your students create their own voting rights timelines based on the information they have learned about the history of suffrage in the U.S. and in Connecticut.
How the law defines “voter”
Federal law:
Connecticut law: (Constitutional requirements, 17-year-olds)

350 Years of Connecticut Government’s history of voting laws in our state

  • Contains information on voting rights as defined by the Fundamental Orders, the Constitution of 1818 and other CT laws through 1965
  • Journal activities and lesson plans including:
    • The Power of the Vote
    • How Does Voting Guarantee the Common Good?
    • Feature on CT native and suffragist Isabella Beecher Hooker
    • Where is the Source of Higher Law in the Constitution of 1818?
    • Voter Qualification Test
    • Feature on Supreme Court ruling on CT Gerrymandering, including reapportionment lesson plan
Additional Resources:

Fair Vote—information on states where 17-year-olds can register to vote and on states where 17-year-olds can vote in a primary election if they will be 18 by the date of the general election

  • Includes interactive map—students can click on a state to learn about voting laws affecting 17-year-olds in that state.
Suffrage for African Americans, women, young people and immigrants
Women’s Suffrage:
African American Suffrage:
Suffrage of Native Americans, Immigrants, Young People:

For more information, please email whyvotingmatters@ct.gov.

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