Card 20: Our Voting Rights

Our Voting Rights

The right to vote has long been the most important right and responsibility for native-born and naturalized citizens of the United States. Voting rights for some people have also been the most denied and hardest won. In all cases, a Constitutional amendment has secured and ensured our right to vote.

19th Amendment

The 19th Amendment states: “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. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

Passed by Congress in June 1919 and ratified by the states in August 1920, the 19th Amendment prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a US citizen’s right to vote on the basis of sex.

Despite this amendment’s ratification, many Black women and women of other minority groups still had to overcome obstacles like poll taxes and literacy tests in order to vote.

24th Amendment

The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

 

24th Amendment (continued)

Before ratification of this Constitutional amendment in 1964, as a means of racial discrimination, five states required citizens to pay a poll tax to qualify to vote. This amendment eliminated poll taxes nationwide.

After ratification of the 24th Amendment, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to enforce voting rights for all US citizens over the age of 21.

26th Amendment

The 26th Amendment says: “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

In 1970, when Congress extended the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it included a provision making 18 the voting age for all federal, state, and local elections, but the Supreme Court struck down that particular provision. Congress then passed the 26th Amendment on March 23, 1971, and it was ratified by 38 states in just over two months.

A note on the Voting Rights Act passed by Congress in 1965:

On June 25, 2013, the US Supreme Court issued a decision in Shelby County v. Holder, significantly weakening the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 5 of that law required states and localities with a history of voting rights violations to preclear changes in voting laws. The ruling invalidated Section 4(b), which determined the jurisdictions covered, effectively removing federal oversight and resulting in discriminatory voting laws that are in effect today.