Political Parties, Voting, and Interest Groups
Session 3: Laws Affecting the Right to Vote

Materials

• Textbooks
• Chalkboard
• Internet access

Instructional Activities

1. Review with students the content covered to this point in the unit.
   
2. Explain the meaning of the word suffrage.
   
   
3. Place the following amendments to the United States Constitution on the board or overhead:
   
   15th Amendment
   17th Amendment
   19th Amendment
   23rd Amendment
   26th Amendment
   
   Instruct students to refer to the United States Constitution to prepare a brief explanation, in their own words, of the provisions of the above amendments. Students may access the following Web site for information:
   <http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/constitution/>
   
   
4. Conduct a discussion with students about their findings on the amendments listed above to check for accuracy. Direct students to refer to their textbooks to discover how each of these amendments effected elections.
   
   
5. Discuss with students why voter turnout and election patterns did not drastically change. Discuss voter apathy with students. Compare the voter turnout in the United States to other countries such as Great Britain.