<P> In other cases, particularly for county or municipal elections, at - large voting has been repeatedly challenged when found to dilute the voting power of significant minorities in violation of the Voting Rights Act . In the early 20th century, numerous cities established small commission forms of government in the belief that "better government" could result from the suppression of ward politics . Commissioners were elected by the majority of voters, excluding candidates who could not afford large campaigns or who appealed to a minority . Generally the solution to such violations has been to adopt single - member districts (SMDs) but alternative election systems, such as limited voting or cumulative voting, have also been used since the late 20th century to correct for dilution of voting power and enable minorities to elect candidates of their choice . </P> <P> The District of Columbia and 5 major territories of the United States have one non-voting member each (in the U.S. House of Representatives) and no representation in the U.S. Senate . People in the U.S. territories cannot vote for president of the United States . People in the District of Columbia can vote for the president because of the 23rd Amendment . </P> <P> The United States Constitution did not originally define who was eligible to vote, allowing each state to determine who was eligible . In the early history of the U.S., most states allowed only white male adult property owners to vote . Freed slaves could vote in four states . Women were largely prohibited from voting, as were men without property . Women could vote in New Jersey until 1807 (provided they could meet the property requirement) and in some local jurisdictions in other northern states . Non-white Americans could also vote in these jurisdictions, provided they could meet the property requirement . By 1856, white men were allowed to vote in all states regardless of property ownership, although requirements for paying tax remained in five states . On the other hand, several states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey stripped the free black males of the right to vote in the same period . </P> <P> Four of the fifteen post-Civil War constitutional amendments were ratified to extend voting rights to different groups of citizens . These extensions state that voting rights cannot be denied or abridged based on the following: </P>

Who was allowed to vote for president in the early united states