Voting Rights in

the United States

Bellringer

 Voting Rights

The Framers left the power of suffrage
qualifications to each state.
Suffrage: the right to vote.
Franchise: synonym for the right to vote.
 In 1789

When the Constitution went into effect the
right to vote was generally restricted to white
male property owners.
 In 2017

More than 240 million people, nearly all
citizens who are at least 18 years of age
qualify to vote.
There has been a gradual elimination of most
restrictions on the right to vote, including
religious beliefs, property ownership, tax
payment, race, and gender.
 Extending Voting
Rights

No state has had a religious test for voting since
1810.
States began to eliminate property ownership and
tax payment qualifications.
15th amendment in 1870 was intended to protect
any citizen from being denied the right to vote
because of race or color.
African Americans were still kept from voting though.
19th amendment in 1920 gave women the right to
vote.
 Extending Voting
Rights

In the 1960s federal legislation and court
decisions secured African Americans a full role
in the electoral process.
23rd amendment was passed in 1961, which
added the District of Columbia voters to the
presidential electorate.
24th amendment was passed in 1964, which
eliminated the poll tax (tax imposed by some
states as a qualification for voting).
26th amendment in 1971, which is that people
18 and older can vote.
 15 Amendment
th

It declares that the right to vote cannot be
denied to any citizen of the United States
because of race, color, or previous condition of
servitude.
This is not self-executing though, which means
that simply stating a general principle without
providing means of enforcement was not enough
to carry out the intention of the amendment.
African Americans were prevented from voting
through violence, threats, literacy tests, poll
taxes, gerrymandering, and more.
 Gerrymandering

The practice of drawing electoral district lines
(the boundaries of the geographic area from
which a candidate is elected to a public office)
in order to limit the voting strength of a
particular group or party.
Outlawed by the Supreme Court.

 Grandfather Clause

This was designed to enfranchise white males
who were unintentionally disqualified by their
failure to meet the literacy or taxpaying
requirements.
They stated that any man, or his male
descendants, who had voted in the state
before the adoption of the 15th amendment
could become a legal voter without regard to
literacy or taxpaying qualifications.
In Guinn v. United States the Supreme Court
found this to be unconstitutional.
 Civil Rights Acts

Intended to implement the 15th amendment.
1957: Created the United States Commission
on Civil Rights, which looks into claims of
voter discrimination.
1960: Provided for the appointment of federal
voting referees. Help qualified voters register
and vote in federal elections.
 Civil Rights Acts

1964: Outlaws discrimination in several areas.
Forbids the use of any voter registration or
literacy requirement in an unfair or
discriminatory manner.
1965: This act applied to all levels of elections,
not just federal. Suspended use of literacy
tests. Attorney general can appoint voting
examiners. Federal officers could register
voters.
 Google Classroom

1. Why might various groups throughout history
including women and African Americans
have fought for the right to vote?
2. What does the fact that it took until 1920 to
pass the 19th amendment say about American
society up until that time?
3. What were some of the biggest barriers to the
success of the 15th amendment? Explain them.
4. Find a political cartoon (must be appropriate)
that ties in with voting rights and explain it.