Why is voting important?

“The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”

~Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States

 

In order to gain an understanding of why voting is so important, let’s take a look back at the history of voting rights.

Contrary to popular belief, the United States’ Constitution did not originally guarantee citizens the “right to vote.” The United States was created with the understanding that only certain individuals would make the decisions when it came to government. 

There are several amendments to the U.S. Constitution which address the right to vote and who actually has this “right.”

14th Amendment

All persons born within the U.S. are citizens and guaranteed rights and privileges (1868)

15th Amendment

No citizen denied the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude

This amendment was intended to give freed slaves the same privileges offered to the white majority in the United States. States were able to get around this amendment by creating Jim Crow Laws and other barriers to prevent minorities from voting.

Jim Crow Laws were requirements for individuals to pass in order to become eligible to vote. These included:

o Literacy tests: These tests excluded under educated Americans from voting. This was specifically focused towards African Americans.

o Grandfather clauses: A requirement which said if your grandfather was eligible to vote, then you are eligible to vote. This would exclude many African Americans whose ancestors were not eligible to vote because of slavery.

o Poll taxes: A fee would be required to vote. The intention is to stop lower income citizens from having a voice in government.

As you can see, the 15th Amendment did not accomplish what it had originally intended. Minorities still did not share equal rights when it came to voting in the United States.

19th Amendment

No citizen shall be abridged of their right to vote based on sex. (1920)

This amendment gave women the right to vote. 

Generations of women worked tirelessly to gain suffrage. This is by far one of the most important amendments to the Constitution when it comes to voting, because it gave the right to vote to half of the population of the United States. If you are a female and reading this document, you have/will have the right to vote because a battle was fought for you in history.

From protesting and picketing to large rallies, women ignored the resistance of opponents who many times verbally and physically assaulted them. Decades of protest and the will of women to never give up paid off, and today women can register and vote for the issues which they feel strongly about.

24th Amendment

No poll tax is allowed or failure to pay any other tax shall prevent a person from voting (1964)

This amendment eliminated some of the Jim Crow laws which were a result of the 15th Amendment.

26th Amendment

All persons 18 or older shall not be abridged of their right to vote. (1971)

This amendment was passed in 1971 after 11 unsuccessful attempts by U.S. Senator Jennings Randolph (D), WV. Randolph originally introduced the bill during his time in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

The Vietnam War brought up the topic of why can 18 year olds fight and die for our country, yet they are not eligible to vote for the members of congress who send them overseas.

The amendment was also passed very quickly, because it was considered politically dangerous to be against giving troops the rights they deserved during the upcoming election in 1972. The potential for an opponent to rally voters against a candidate were too strong, not to support the amendment.

This amendment is the reason why 18 year olds and 17 year olds who will be 18 by the date of the next General Election are eligible to vote. Seventeen year olds are not permitted to vote in municipal or special elections however.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Applied a nationwide prohibition against the denial or abridgment of the right to vote on the literacy tests on a nationwide basis.

 Finally the barriers to vote were lifted for minorities.

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Deadline: Friday, noon

 

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