Spectrum #21: Order these voting milestones by year — the solution
The Spectrum puzzle from September 4, 2026: six things on one hidden scale, earliest to latest, with every figure and where the checks were best spent.
The puzzle
Order these voting milestones by year, earliest at the top and latest at the bottom. The board opened in this order:
- 19th Amendment
- Indian Citizenship Act
- 26th Amendment
- Motor Voter Act
- 15th Amendment
- Voting Rights Act
Nothing was in its place; 15th Amendment opened 4 places from home.
The walkthrough
The ends first. 15th Amendment is the earliest of the six at 1870 and Motor Voter Act the latest at 1993. Anchor those and the middle four are what is left to place.
Where the scale splits. The widest gap is between 15th Amendment (1870) and 19th Amendment (1920) — 50 years apart. Everything above that line belongs on the earliest side and everything below it on the latest side, so sorting the six into those two groups is most of the puzzle.
The closest call. 19th Amendment (1920) and Indian Citizenship Act (1924) are only 4 years apart — the pair that is a coin flip without the figures, and the place to spend a check: a check locks whatever is already right and leaves only the wrong tiles to swap.
The answer
| # | Earliest to Latest | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15th Amendment | 1870 |
| 2 | 19th Amendment | 1920 |
| 3 | Indian Citizenship Act | 1924 |
| 4 | Voting Rights Act | 1965 |
| 5 | 26th Amendment | 1971 |
| 6 | Motor Voter Act | 1993 |
Previous: Spectrum #20 (Thu, Sep 3) · Next: Spectrum #22 (Sat, Sep 5)
About Spectrum
Spectrum is Noggin’s daily ordering puzzle: six things, one hidden scale, three checks. Tiles in the right place lock green; the figures turn over when the board is done. How to play Spectrum, or play today’s.