Federal Voting Regulations
It is illegal to require people to meet certain criteria before voting. Regulations are not put on voting. Regulations are put on the administration of the voting procedure.
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Federal Regulations
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Federal law, specifically the Voting Rights Act of 1965, states that no one can be denied their right to vote based on any discriminatory criteria. After that, the federal government hands all issues of voter eligibility to individual states.
State Regulations
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States independently set the requirements to vote in local, state and federal elections. Stipulations include denying the right to vote to people who have committed felonies.
Some states bar convicted criminals, especially felons, from voting for a fixed period of time or indefinitely. The number of American adults who are currently or permanently ineligible to vote due to felony convictions is estimated to be 5.3 million. Some states also have legacy constitutional statements barring the "insane" or "idiots" from voting; such references are generally considered obsolete and are being considered for review or removal where they appear.
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Felony
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States have the option of deciding if convicted felons are denied the privilege of voting in elections for a certain period of time after they are convicted or if having a felony conviction denies them the right to vote indefinitely.
Age Requirement
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Citizens of the United States are not eligible to vote until the age of 18.
The Voting Rights Act
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The Voting Rights Act was passed by Congress to ban all practices of requiring qualified voters to pass tests and meet other requirements before voting.
Fact
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North Dakota is the only state that does not require voters to be registered.
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