United States Constitution: Amendments 15, 23, 24 & 26. Voting Rights

Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870.

• Section 2 of the 14th Amendment had extended the vote to all "male" citizens 21 years of age.
• The 14th Amendment did not explicitly grant the vote to African-American men.
• It did decrease congressional representation for State that denied the vote to African-American males.
• The 15th Amendment guaranteed that the vote could not be denied "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Voting Restrictions

Ways the States Tried to Deny African-Americans Their Voting Rights

• "Grandfather Clauses": If your grandfather couldn't vote, you had to pass a test or pay a fee to voter. This was designed so that only white men could vote, since only white men had the right to vote before the 15th Amendment.
• The ability to read and write.
• Property requirements.
• African-Americans excluded from political party conventions and primaries.

American Voting Rights history

• 1788. Voting left to States by the U.S. Constitution.
• 1868. 14th Amendmentgranted voting to all U.S.-born and naturalized males.
• 1870. 15th Amendment grants black men the right to vote.
• 1915. Guinn v United States: Supreme Court struck down the "grandfather clause" as an exemption to voting.
• 1920. 19th Amendmentgranted women the right to vote.
• 1924. Native Americans granted the right to vote.
• 1939. Lane v Wilson: A one-time 12-day voter registration was unconstitutional.
• 1943. Chinese Exclusion Act repealed, granting citizenship to Chinese-Americans.
• 1953. Terry v Adams: The 15th Amendment applied to any election where a public official was chosen.
• 1961. 23rd Amendment: Washington D.C. residents granted the right to vote in Presidential elections.
• 1964. 24th Amendmentbans Poll Taxes.
• 1965. The Voting Rights Act.
• 1966.South Carolina v Katzenbach: Upheld the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
• 1971. 26th Amendment granted the vote to 18-year-olds.
• 1982. Voting Rights Act of 1965 extended for 25 years.
• 1984. Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act passed.
• 1993. The National Voter Registration Act
• 2000. Rice v Cayetano: Hawaii could not limit the voter to qualified "Hawaiians" for State offices, dealing with Hawaiian Affairs.
• 2002. Help America Vote Actpassed.
• 2013. Shelby County v Holder: Ruled Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional.
• 2016. Evenwel v Abbott: Legislation districting can be based on total population.
• 2016. Harris v Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission: A redistricting commission can use a slight variance of population in drawing legislative districts.

Four Voting Rights Leaders

Medgar Evers (1925-1963)
Photograph cropped from a Public Domain

Voting Rights

Movies and Television

The definitive story of the Civil Rights era from the point of view of the ordinary men and women whose extraordinary actions launched a movement that changed the fabric of American life, and embodied a struggle whose reverberations are felt today.

“White people are astounded by Birmingham, black people aren’t. They are endlessly demanding to be reassured that Birmingham is really on Mars. They don’t want to believe still, less act on the belief, that what is happening in Birmingham is happening all over the country.” James Baldwin, quoted in "I am not your Negro."

23rd Amendment. DC Voting

THE 23RD AMENDMENT

Passed by Congress June 16, 1960. Ratified March 29, 1961.

Before 1960, the Constitution did not give the residents of the District of Columbia the right to vote for any Federal official. It was the Capital. When the Federal government moved to Washington, D.C., there was a very small population. By 1960, the Capital had more residents than thirteen States. With the ratification of the 23rd Amendment, residents of D.C. could vote for the Presidents. Under the 23rd Amendment, the District of Columbia receives three electoral votes for President regardless of population. This was no more than the smallest State. They still do not have the right to vote for a Senator or a Congress person.

"Here, in the capital of democracy, lives one of the largest blocs of disenfranchised voters in the world."--former Mayor Anthony Williams.

Source: The Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution (p.258).

Amendment 24. Ban on Poll Tax

THE 24TH AMENDMENT

Passed by Congress August 27, 1962. Ratified January 23, 1964.

A voter cannot be charged a tax or any other tax in order to vote in a Federal election.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 extended that prohibitions to State elections as well.

26th Amendment. Voting Age 18

THE 26TH AMENDMENT

Passed by Congress March 23, 1971. Ratified July 1, 1971.

This Amendment lowered the voting age for all American citizens to 18 years old.

This Amendment was the fastest to ratify. The Amendment covered both national elections as well as State and local elections. It was ratified during the Vietnam War when young men were being drafted to serve in the military. It was argued that, if young people 18 years old had to fight America's wars, they should have the right to vote for those making the decisions to send them out to fight.

Full Sail Library Guides

• Black Lives, Black History: Guide to research and resources for African American History.
• The Sixties: African-American Civil Rights

Additional References

Harper, T. (2016). The complete idiot's guide to the U.S. Constitution. Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Random House LLC.
Monk, L. R. & Ginsburg, R. B. (2018). The Bill of Rights: a user's guide. Hachette Books.
Monk, L. R. (2015). The words we live by: your annotated guide to the Constitution. Hachette Books.

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