Voting Rights

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

Voting was not always fair, especially for colored people. People who were white could vote without problems. Not only did blacks have rights, but Indians couldn't vote. Soon after almost 100 years Native Americans could finally vote.Today everyone has the right to vote no matter what race they are.

Voting is a right that is given to all citizens by the 15th Amendment of the Constitution. Although the 15th amendment was ratified in 1870. It was not until The Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed that African Americans got to exercise their right to vote under the 15th amendment at the state and local level; which overcame the legal barriers that existed at those levels that was in place to prevent African Americans from voting.

In 2017 all United States citizens can vote as long as their 18 years or older and registered. This has allowed thousands of more people to vote. How did this huge of a change happen? From amendments, acts, cases, and more. The first amendment gives everyone the right for petition, assembly, speech, religion, and press. This gives everyone the right to speak their opinion of their political views, religious beliefs, and ect. Only white men voting changed with the adding of the amendments 15th and 19th. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 lead to the 15th amendment. This amendment gave people of any race to be allowed to vote. All men of any race was given the rights to vote. Later on came the 19th amendment. The 19th amendment gave all women above the legal age of 21 the right to vote. Eventually the voting age got lowered to 18. Boys being drafted at age 18 were complaining which helped this amendment be ratified so quickly. They were mad because there was so many things they couldn’t do but after the draft maybe not come back or come back hurt.

When people’s rights are suppressed, they have to stand together for themselves in order to win those rights back. In the 1960s, African-Americans marched together in a series of peaceful demonstrations in order to demand the right to vote which was a right that had been long suppressed. The Civil Rights Movements led to the Voting Rights Act which was a great achievement for African-Americans on their way to attaining equal rights because this act protected African-Americans’ right to vote from being suppressed by state governments.

When Congress passed the fifteenth amendment African Americans were given the right to vote, however state legislatures created laws to deter the undesirable vote from African Americans. The country sediment was to not have any undesirable or what they considered non American people voting. That is why when the Civil Rights Act of 1866 passes, it granted citizenship not rights to vote. Children of immigrants were also not considered qualified to vote. This society felt that the only eligible voters should be American men, because they considered themselves as superior and denied immigrants, blacks and women to vote to uphold social hierarchy. Each state varied in voter prerequisites and while there was not a specific guideline, there were restrictions to exclude certain members of

Voting rights have been intertwined with every part of our history. The fight for the right to vote started evolving before the American Revolution and hasn’t completely stopped. Due to taxation and ruling from King George of England, many colonists were upset with how they were living in the new colonies. They wanted freedom from a king and independence so they could choose how to live. But the American Revolution did not bring as much freedom in government as the people may have hoped. The creation of the Constitution, and the then Bill of Rights, enabled the people to have the limited government they desired. It did not include policies for social welfare and justice, but it was open to be edited in the future. When certain policies, like voting, where brought to people’s attention, cultural differences impacted how some people voted throughout history. The founding fathers were smart to leave the Bill of Rights amendable. Through amendments

Since its birth, The United States has always had a troubling past on giving its citizens the “right to Vote.” Initially the “ right to vote “ was an exclusive right given to white freemen and before the 15th amendment wasn’t even a true right, more of a privilege. For this reason, it is my belief that the 15th amendment was the most important. The 15th amendment is also the first of four amendments extending the Right to Vote to all in the United States. In 1869, the United States congress passes this amendment which allowed for all citizens no matter what race, color or previous condition of servitude to vote. This meant that “on paper”, this right, naturally pass on to African American. However, as demonstrated by Louisiana passing a the

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.

Voting is an essential right that has been given to citizens since it allows the society to become as close as it could to an ideal democracy - a nation governed by its people. Some people think that voting is the most important right of all. "The right to vote is the most basic right, without which all others are meaningless,  American president Lyndon Johnson once said. By means of voting, individuals have a direct say in different social and political issues.

Before two fundamental amendments were passed, the only persons who were allowed to vote were Caucasian males, and criminal white males were not explicitly denied voting rights until a certain amendment. The Constitution itself does not overtly state who is allowed to vote. However, one exception is the Fifteenth Amendment where it states that voting rights shall not be denied on the merit of race or color, this implicitly allowed African-Americans to vote. Another exception is the Nineteenth Amendment which stated that the right to vote shall not be denied on the account of sex. The long-awaited ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment was a pivotal moment in the women’s suffrage movement. Those amendments explicitly endorsed and allowed certain groups of people to vote. The ratification of the Fifteenth and the Nineteenth Amendments were a colossal step towards the universal suffrage ideal. Nevertheless, the United States has yet to reach universal suffrage because the Constitution does clearly disenfranchise convicted felons; however, all states have the power to restore voting rights to previously incarcerated or currently incarcerated convicted

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?

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 extended the rights of all eligible citizens to vote. But America has a long history of disenfranchisement. Woman were not allowed to vote until 1920, when the Constitution was amended to state "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” (“The 19th Amendment”). In 1870, African American men were granted the right to vote in The 15th Amendment which stated, the “right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state

Legally, the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment just a few years after the close of the Civil War, African American men had the right to vote according to the United States Constitution. However, racial relations in the south had deteriorated so greatly that even such constitutionally-protected elements of their lives were unable to survive. Whites passed a number of laws designed to disenfranchise African American men, knowing that without the right to vote, the voices of newly-freed slaves would not be heard. These laws included such measures as literacy tests, poll taxes, property qualifications, and so-called “grandfather” clauses that denied an individual the right to vote if their grandfather did not vote himself. Race relations in the south had deteriorated so rapidly that even something as basic as voting, something that was to be provided to African American men according to the United States Constitution, was denied them (“The state…”, 2011).

As a person of color, I encourage all who have the ability to vote to do so. It is something that should not be taken for granted. My parents are immigrants and consequently are deprived from voting due to the lack of a document. This makes me realize the privilege that I have in being able to vote. In my community, I see people who are forced to stay silent and have their lives in the United States shaped by those who have the privilege to exercise their democratic right to vote. When deciding whether or not to vote, keep in mind marginalized communities such as immigrants, undocumented young people who seek a better life and education in the United States, Muslims, whose identity and religion are criminalized, and