Exercising Rights Or Voting In The United States

The Voting Rights Act was passed to protect state and local governments to not pass laws or policies that deny American citizens the equal right to vote based on their race. The United States should work to keep voting free and fair for everyone to have the rights to vote. The voting right it is important because it makes sure every citizen, regardless of their race, has an equal opportunity to have a say what they want. Shelby County V. Holder, is a historical United States Supreme court case regarding the authority of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. About Section 5 Voting Rights it requires local governments and certain states to get federal permission before starting any changes to their voting laws or practices. Section 4 includes the

The next most important right is consent of the governed. According to the Democracy web, “...government exists to secure the rights of the people and must be based on the consent of the governed” (Document C). Government is meant to keep the people safe, happy, and successful. Therefore, people should be able to vote and decide on their own who is trying to give them those things.

In 2013 a court case “Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder” that challenged the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision ruled that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was an act that …..was unconstitutional because it was based off of old data and no longer applied to those certain nine states which were Alabama, Texas, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and Virginia. (Excerpt from Shelby County, Ala. V. Holder) The Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder was unjust because it abolished Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act which protected minorities from voting discrimination in the South and caused a step back on the path to full equality because those nine states will go back to their ways where they discriminated and hindered African American and minorities from voting because they no longer have the authority of the Voting Rights Act over their heads.

We have come a long way from a time when only white, affluent, property owning males could vote. In terms of ‘voting rights’ it was a gradual expansion of the vote, which slowly began to expand to all whites, individuals once labeled slaves or ‘aliens’, African Americans, military personal and women. To vote in the United States, no longer do you need to pass a literacy test, but you must be a U.S citizen and at least 18 years old on Election Day. In addition, some states also require various periods of residency before voting is permitted. Furthermore some states restrict felons or those mentally incompetent to vote. In Massachusetts, for the first time, there was Early Voting. During this period, October 24th to November 4th, registered voters were allowed to cast their ballots. During this period of Early voting, I along with a group of classmates had the engaging opportunity to be an exit pollster. We decided to canvas much of the Boston area, with hopes of a ranging demographic. This hands-on experience, working with a team in carrying out the exit poll, allowed for a greater insight to the dynamics of election administration, a deeper understanding on the rights of voters and voter turn out, technique for attaining a random sample, the role of the interviewer and importance of survey design.

Thus, when faced with arbitrary legislative action or inaction, judicial intervention “is not only appropriate but essential” to protect citizens’ constitutional rights. Furthermore, when the Court resolves constitutional questions that, for whatever reasons, elected representatives, cannot, its rulings can guide lower courts, legislators, and citizens concerning the scope of individual rights and permissibility of governmental conduct. When the Court applies the standing doctrine regardless of legislative inertia or entrenchment, some citizens are left with rights but no remedies and a government that is unaccountable and unresponsive to its citizens.

Shaw provides a good point when he states: “Going through rehabilitation and reintegration, ex-felons become part of a law-abiding society with the same privileges as others in the society, proponents for voting rights argue.” If they go through these things to become a part of society again, then why are they not allowed the right to vote? This must be an upsetting process for those felons that want to become a part of society again and actually care to make a difference. All that they want to do is to be granted one of the basic fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens. I mean that’s the least they should get after going through the process that they do. It is only fair for them to obtain the right to vote again because at the end of the day they did what was required of them to become a part of society again and what is the use of that if they cannot even vote?

In 1964, the Supreme Court ruled that all states must draw electoral districts based on the population so that political power is equally shared and represented. However, justices did not specify the method the states should use. In the time since the 1964 ruling, lower courts have never found that any state violated the Constitution by using the total population. This is the way it has been and it seemed this was the way it would always be but Sue Evenwel, a county chairwoman for the Texas Republican Party, felt this was unfair to her equal vote.

“This act flows from a clear and simple wrong, its only purpose is to right that wrong. Millions of Americans are denied the right to vote because of their color. This law will ensure them the right to vote. The wrong is one which no American, in his heart, can justify. The right is one which no American, true to our principles, can deny.... It is not just a question of guilt, although there is that. It is that men cannot live with a lie and not be stained by it, “said the president (Equal Citizenship and the Individual Right to Vote). The Voting Rights Act was “one of the most monumental laws in the entire history of American freedom”—a law that, very exclusively, aimed to break down the legal barriers at the state and local governments’ level of authority that prohibited African Americans from exercising their constitutional right to vote.

When the United States was still in its infancy, state versus national citizenship had no clear distinction due to the fact that noncitizen suffrage “was not controversial because voting rights were based on property and race, not citizenship” (Renshon 2008). Although it was without meaning, a precedent was set for which people were to vote in America’s elections: white men. Professor Leon E. Aylsworth (1931), a political science professor who assisted in the drafting of several laws in the Nebraska legislature stated in his article, “The Passing of Alien Suffrage” that:

In our country today, we are so fortunate and blessed that we have the rights we have. Voting is very special because we get to exercise a right that many countries don’t have. Many countries have one ruler that dictates how everyone is going to live, how their economic system is going to work, and how they will worship. The United States is blessed to have democracy, where we have freedom of religion and the right to vote for the people who we believe stand firm on our similar platform. On November 1st, turning eighteen years of age, I was looking forward to my first time to vote. The year leading up to the election my eyes were opened to the fact that there is much division in the United States. The country has forgotten the “Pledge

The United States of America implemented one of the greatest rights in our society. A few amendments to the Constitution states that every American citizen who is of legal voting age has the right to vote no matter of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It took many years, and many people have fought for us to have this privilege. And, to be more precise, it took one hundred years and five amendments to end voter discrimination. Despite all the sacrifices, many people choose not to vote thinking that one vote does not count, but that may have catastrophic consequences for people all over the world because U.S. is a major world power.

The people can vote to choose their leader. The President, Vice President, and other Executive leaders can be impeached by Congress for committing crimes.can do something like impeach the president.If the President vetoes the law, then the House and Senate can vote again on it. If 2/3rds of both approve, it can become a law anyway.

When felons are incarcerated they lose many privileges. From visiting to phone privileges, inmates lose the freedom to do whatever they please. Among those lost privileges is the right to vote. So far inmates are denied the right to vote in 46 states. In 14 states felons are denied the right to vote for the rest of their lives (Fagin, 2014, p. 237). Losing the right to vote is a form of banishment used to punish the inmate for his or her actions.

The event I chose was ‘The Right to Vote,’ which is based on the life of Josephine Summers. Josephine was also known as Joyce and was born in 1940, on Ukerebah Island – an island located in the middle of the Tweed River. During her teenage life and adulthood, Joyce, along with many other indigenous people, had grown up with discrimination. Unlike her grandmother, who wasn’t fully aboriginal and often referred to as a quadroon, Joyce didn’t have the right to vote and the same rule applied for anyone like her. In 1962, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders were finally granted the right to enrol and vote at federal elections, as well as referendums. This was not compulsory. However, in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory,

Young adults in current times have grown up with many rights that have not always been considered a right but instead a privilege. Voting is one of these rights that was once only considered a privilege, eligible for a particular gender and ethnicity. For many years this meant that the only group of people allowed to vote were white males. Today, things are different and everyone has the choice to vote after they reach the age of eighteen. The right to vote is a powerful right that we must take advantage of because not every country is lucky enough to have a say in their government. Today, in America we have the opportunity to decide if we would like to vote or not. Many Americans take pride in this right as it is considered a civic duty that has not always been eligible to everyone.