The Right to Vote

1. The Right to Vote

2. Voting Qualifications • The Constitution does not give the Federal Government the power to set suffrage, voting, qualifications • This is left to the states. • Slowly, over time, these have become less, and less, making the American electorate, the people who can vote, expansive. • The expansion of the electorate came in several stages.

3. Expanding the Electorate • In the early days of the country qualifications to vote were very strict. • At first states required that you own, property, pay taxes, be a man, and some states even had religious tests. • All of this slowly dissipated quickly in the 1800’s. • The next push came after the Civil War. • The 15th amendment said that no one can be denied the right to vote based on race or color.

4. Expanding Cont. • Still for almost another century African Americans were barred from voting • The 19th amendment (1920) said women couldn’t be denied the right to vote. • Finally in the 1960’s the civil rights movement got going. • The voter rights act of 1965, the civil rights act, all were vigorously enforced. • The 24th amendment eliminated the poll tax in 1964 which was one of the final hurdles to voter equality. • The final expansion came in 1971 with the 26th amendment saying that no state can set the minimum age for voting no higher than 18.

5. State set Qualifications • These are qualifications for voting set by the states. • The Constitution only outlines a few things they can’t do. • These are: • Deny the right to vote based on race, religion, or sex. • No state can charge a poll tax • States must allow those who vote for the largest branch of their state government to vote for their representatives in the Senate and the House.

6. Qualifications • Outside of those provisions banned in the Constitution States can set what qualifications they want. • States can: • Require citizenship to vote • However in the Constitution aliens, foreigners, are not denied the right to vote • Residency • Today it is required that you be a resident in the state you vote. Usually states make you live there for a certain period of time to become a resident of their state. • Set the voting age so long as it is not above 18.

7. Registration • Almost every state requires some form of registration. • This is done to prevent voter fraud. • http://www.kmtv.com/news/local/142419625.html • Today 31 states have voter ID laws. • This means you have to show ID to vote. • There is controversy over rather or not these laws are fair and constitutional.

8. ACORN • Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. • This was a government funded organization that was supposed to help people register to vote and inform voters as well as help lower income groups with housing and other community service agendas. • ACORN officially shut it’s doors after 40 years in November of 2010. • Why?

9. Voter Fraud • ACORN was forced to close because of their involvement in voter fraud. • http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6968 • ACORN did things like register dead people, illegal immigrants, felons in states were felons couldn’t vote, and many other things.

10. Registration Cont. • Every state but North Dakota requires that voters be registered to vote. • Registration requirements are different everywhere. • Some states allow registration at any time up to and including election day • While others require voters to be registered as many as 30 days before the election. It just depends where you live. • http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/voter_info.html • Every state but North Dakota requires that voters be registered to vote. • Registration requirements are different everywhere. • Some states allow registration at any time up to and including election day • While others require voters to be registered as many as 30 days before the election. It just depends where you live. • http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/voter_info.html • Every state but North Dakota requires that voters be registered to vote. • Registration requirements are different everywhere. • Some states allow registration at any time up to and including election day • While others require voters to be registered as many as 30 days before the election. It just depends where you live. • http://www.sos.ne.gov/elec/voter_info.html

11. Controversy • There are some people who believe that registering to vote should be banned everywhere. • They believe that it bars voting to the poor and less educated. • Those critics support their argument by saying voter turnout is higher in Europe because voter registration is a law and not a choice. • Everyone of legal age to vote, in most European democracies, must register to vote. • The United States is the only democracy in which voter registration is a choice.

12. Literacy Test • Today no State has a voting requirement of being literate, able to read and write. • At one time though states could have a literacy requirement for voting and many did. • The states used the excuse that this would make sure only informed voters would be voting. • However the literacy test was adopted to keep African Americans from voting in many states. • In Guinn v. United States in 1915 the Supreme Court found the literacy test in violation of the 15th amendment saying no American can be denied the right to vote based on race, religion, or previous servitude.

13. Poll Tax • This was a favorite in many Southern States. • This is a tax that you have to pay at the polling place to vote. • Southern States adopted this tax as a way of keeping African Americans from voting. • However this didn’t always worked and at one point the majority of Southern States simply abandoned it. • The 24th amendment eliminated the Poll Tax for federal elections. • Harper v. Virginia was a case in 1966 where the Supreme Court permanently outlawed the poll tax permanently.

14. Persons Denied the Right to Vote • In almost all of the 50 states there are people who are denied the vote. • In most states people in mental institutions and those deemed mentally incompetent aren’t allowed to vote. • Also in most states convicted felons are denied the right to vote. • However recently provisions in some states have been made for felons to regain their voter rights.

15. Things to Remember • The Constitution does not give power to the Federal Government to set voter qualifications. • This is left to the States • The 15th amendment says that no one can be denied the right to vote based on race. • The 19th Amendment said women couldn’t be denied the right to vote. • Voter registration is different in every state • Some states allow you to register all the way up to election day and some have a set date before the election day. • In North Dakota you don’t have to register. • The literacy test and the poll tax have all been outlawed.