Voting: Rights and Responsibilities
Overview
In this three-part lesson students use primary sources to explore voting rights in the United States. In Part I, students analyze two sets of documents to gain a deeper understanding of how suffrage has been both expanded and suppressed, developing claims about how voting rights impact equality. In Part II, students further analyze one of the documents from Day One before taking on the role of a congressional committee charged with amending (or not) the Voting Rights Act to require compulsory voting. In Part III, students write their answer to the Essential Question, informed by class discussion and primary source analysis.
Related Resources
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U.S. legislation related to Voting Rights Act
1973-present -
Compulsory Voting
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance -
Compulsory Voting
Australian Electoral Commission
Grade
High School
Subjects
Civics, Social Studies
Length
80-100 minutes
Topics
compulsory voting, congress, equality, legislation, poll tax, responsibilities, role play, suffrage, voting, voting rights, voting rights act, voting rights reauthorization act, woman suffrage