<P> As initially ratified , the United States Constitution granted each state complete discretion to determine voter qualifications for its residents . After the Civil War , the three Reconstruction Amendments were ratified and limited this discretion . The Thirteenth Amendment ( 1865 ) prohibits slavery ; the Fourteenth Amendment ( 1868 ) grants citizenship to anyone `` born or naturalized in the United States '' and guarantees every person due process and equal protection rights ; and the Fifteenth Amendment ( 1870 ) provides that `` ( t ) he right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race , color , or previous condition of servitude . '' These Amendments also empower Congress to enforce their provisions through `` appropriate legislation '' . </P>
<P> As initially ratified , the United States Constitution granted each state complete discretion to determine voter qualifications for its residents . After the Civil War , the three Reconstruction Amendments were ratified and limited this discretion . The Thirteenth Amendment ( 1865 ) prohibits slavery ; the Fourteenth Amendment ( 1868 ) grants citizenship to anyone `` born or naturalized in the United States '' and guarantees every person due process and equal protection rights ; and the Fifteenth Amendment ( 1870 ) provides that `` ( t ) he right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race , color , or previous condition of servitude . '' These Amendments also empower Congress to enforce their provisions through `` appropriate legislation '' . </P>
who has the authority to set voting requirements
who has the authority to set voting requirements
each state
each state