Summary

Background

Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning "vote") is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. In that context, it is also called political franchise or simply the franchise, a term dating from the time when the Franks of ancient France were free.
Source: Wikipedia entry

Voting Rights are essential in a true representative American democracy. The right to vote is not guaranteed in our U.S. constitution, but most Americans feel that meaningful and equal political participation and power should be accessible to all citizens regardless of economic or social status. Voting Rights companion legislation is therefore additional laws that seek to strengthen and extend the right to vote, whether it be by more convenient participation, or reduced barriers to voting.

The major piece of national legislation that established these equal rights was the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965.

"Congress determined that the existing federal anti-discrimination laws were not sufficient to overcome the resistance by state officials to enforcement of the 15th Amendment. The legislative hearings showed that the Department of Justice's efforts to eliminate discriminatory election practices by litigation on a case-by-case basis had been unsuccessful in opening up the registration process; as soon as one discriminatory practice or procedure was proven to be unconstitutional and enjoined, a new one would be substituted in its place and litigation would have to commence anew."
-VRA Introduction

Additional Links

The Right To Vote Amendment H.J. Res 28
ACLU Voting Rights website
Voting Rights Act of 1965