Name two amendments that expanded voting rights in U.S. history and briefly state their impact.

• A. The 15th Amendment (racial voting rights) and the 19th Amendment (women's suffrage)
• B. The 13th and 14th Amendments
• C. The 19th and 26th Amendments
• D. The 26th and 27th Amendments

Answer: (A)

Expanding who can vote through constitutional amendments broadens political participation and reshapes who the electorate includes. The two amendments in question explicitly extend voting rights to groups that were previously excluded. One prevents denying the right to vote because of race, providing federal protection for Black men's voting rights at a national level and signaling a break from past racial barriers. The other prohibits denying the right to vote because of sex, giving women nationwide suffrage and dramatically increasing the number of people who could participate in elections. Their impact is seen in the significant and lasting expansion of who could participate in choosing leaders and shaping policy, even as barriers and discrimination persisted in practice. The other paired options don’t fit as directly because they either focus on issues other than voting rights (like abolition and citizenship) or involve a provision that alters voting age or unrelated congressional pay, rather than expanding suffrage in the same explicit way.