Eleanor Finch
The struggle for equal voting rights in the United States has a long history, with the Constitution initially granting states the power to set voting requirements, which generally limited the right to vote to property-owning or tax-paying white males. Over time, constitutional amendments and federal laws have been enacted to expand voting rights and protect against discrimination in voting based on race, gender, disability, age, and other factors. Notable milestones include the 15th Amendment, which granted African American men the right to vote in 1870, and the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, which gave women the right to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 also took significant steps to curtail voter suppression, reduce the voting age to 18, and provide protections for language minorities and people with disabilities. However, despite these advancements, new obstacles to voting continue to emerge, highlighting the ongoing push-and-pull nature of the battle for voting rights in the United States.
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What You'll Learn
Literacy tests and poll taxes
The US Constitution initially left voter qualifications to individual states. In the late 18th century, many states limited voting rights to property-owning or tax-paying white males (about 6% of the population). The Naturalization Act of 1790 further restricted citizenship to "free white persons", effectively limiting voting rights to white male property owners.
Poll taxes and literacy tests were used as a means to restrict voting rights, particularly for African Americans. Poll taxes, or taxes of a fixed amount on every liable individual, emerged in some states in the late nineteenth century as part of the Jim Crow laws. While southern legislatures claimed that poll taxes were designed to raise state revenue, many white political leaders saw them as a way to suppress the African-American vote. Literacy tests were also used to similar effect, with illiterate whites often exempted through "grandfather clauses" that tied their voting rights to their grandfathers' before the Civil War.
By the mid-19th century, most states did not limit voting by property ownership or poll taxes. However, after the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870, which gave African-American men the right to vote, many states re-established poll taxes and literacy tests as a way to limit Black voter registration and turnout. These measures, along with intimidation, violence, and the disqualification of people convicted of felonies, succeeded in reducing Black voter participation.
The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, abolished the use of poll taxes (or any other tax) as a precondition for voting in federal elections. However, it did not mention poll taxes in state elections. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 further clarified that poll taxes were outlawed nationwide and made it enforceable by law. In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections that poll taxes were unconstitutional in any election, including state and local elections, as they violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
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Voting rights for African Americans
The right to vote in the United States has been a hard-fought battle for many communities since the nation's founding. The original US Constitution, in Article VI, Clause 3, states that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States". However, in practice, voting rights were generally restricted to property-owning or tax-paying white males (about 6% of the population) in the early days of the nation.
Post-Civil War and Reconstruction Amendments
Following the Civil War, the 15th Amendment was adopted in 1870, granting African American men the right to vote. This amendment was a significant step towards breaking down the racial divide in voting. However, it did not guarantee their ability to exercise this right, as many states continued to impose restrictions. Southern states, in particular, resorted to various means to prevent African Americans from voting, including literacy tests, grandfather clauses, poll taxes, and other discriminatory practices.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
It wasn't until the passage of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in 1965 that African Americans, both men and women, gained a clear path to exercising their voting rights. The VRA was a landmark piece of legislation that banned racial discrimination in the voting process and required states with a history of voter suppression to obtain federal approval before enacting new voting restrictions. This act was a direct response to the violent attacks on peaceful protestors on "Bloody Sunday" in Selma, Alabama, in 1965, which highlighted the need for federal protections for voters.
Ongoing Challenges and Resistance
Despite the progress made by the VRA, the struggle for equal voting rights for African Americans has continued. In 2013, the US Supreme Court's ruling on Shelby County v. Holder undermined the VRA, allowing states with a history of voter suppression to enact restrictive voter identification laws. This ruling led to a wave of new restrictions on voting, impacting communities of colour, including African Americans. Today, the fight for voting rights continues, with efforts such as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act aiming to restore and modernize the VRA and ensure an end to discriminatory voting policies.
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Voting rights for women
The US Constitution did limit who could vote, and for much of the nation's history, only white male property owners over the age of 21 could participate in federal elections. The Naturalization Act of 1790 restricted citizenship to "free white persons", effectively barring women, people of colour, and non-property owners from voting.
Women's Suffrage Movement
The women's suffrage movement in the United States began in the mid-19th century, with women lecturing, writing, marching, lobbying, and practising civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution. Notable figures in the movement include Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucy Stone. Strategies for achieving the goal of women's suffrage varied, with some pursuing a strategy of passing suffrage acts in each state, while others challenged male-only voting laws in the courts or used more confrontational tactics such as picketing, silent vigils, and hunger strikes.
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified on August 18, 1920, granted women the right to vote. The amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1878, and by 1916, almost all of the major suffrage organizations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. The amendment was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, marking its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. The 19th Amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote, and it changed the face of the American electorate forever.
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Voting rights for language minorities
Voting rights in the United States have been a contentious issue since the country's earliest days. The US Constitution, in Article VI, Clause 3, states that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States". However, historically, states limited the right to vote to property-owning or tax-paying white males, which amounted to only about 6% of the population. The Naturalization Act of 1790 further restricted citizenship to "free white persons," effectively excluding people of colour from the political process.
Over time, there have been bipartisan efforts to expand voting rights and make it more inclusive. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, granted African American men the right to vote, although many were still unable to exercise this right due to literacy tests and other barriers erected by certain states. The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, extended the right to vote to women, and the 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, eliminated poll taxes, which had been used to disenfranchise African Americans and poor whites.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark piece of legislation that took significant steps to address voter suppression and discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group. This Act required certain jurisdictions to provide election materials in languages other than English and placed limits on states with a history of voter discrimination. The Act was further strengthened by the addition of Section 203 in 1975, which mandated language minority ballots in some jurisdictions, recognising that many Americans rely on languages other than English to be informed voters and participate effectively in democracy.
Despite these advancements, voting rights for language minorities remain a challenge. Language minority voters continue to face barriers, such as a lack of multilingual assistance at polling places and inadequate translations of election materials. To address these issues, the Civil Rights Division provides guidance to local election officials on complying with language minority provisions, and the Division monitors elections to ensure that programs are implemented as required by the Voting Rights Act.
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Voting age restrictions
In the 1960s, a movement emerged to lower the voting age, fuelled by increasing student activism and the Vietnam War, which predominantly involved young draftees aged 18 and above. This push for change led to the ratification of the 26th Amendment in 1971, which prohibited states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens aged 18 and above based on age. This amendment ensured that all citizens, regardless of age, between 18 and above, had the legal right to participate in elections.
The struggle for voting rights has been a continuous journey in the United States, with various amendments and laws being enacted to expand access to voting based on race, ethnicity, gender, and disability. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, extended several times, played a crucial role in abolishing barriers to voting and authorised federal supervision of voter registration. Additionally, the Civil Rights Acts provided early federal protections against discrimination in voting, further strengthened by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group.
Despite these advancements, challenges to voting rights persist. In 2013, the US Supreme Court's ruling on Shelby County v. Holder weakened the Voting Rights Act, allowing states with a history of voter suppression to implement restrictive voter identification laws, limiting early voting, and closing polling places. These actions created new obstacles for voters, underscoring the ongoing need to protect and expand voting rights in the United States.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the US Constitution did limit who could vote. Voting was generally restricted to property-owning or tax-paying white males (about 6% of the population).
The 15th Amendment, enacted in 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. However, many states used literacy tests and other barriers, such as poll taxes, to make it harder for African Americans to exercise this right.
Women in the US gained the right to vote in 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment. This came after a sustained campaign, led by women, that began in 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention in New York.
No, for much of US history, the voting age was 21. The movement to lower the voting age gained momentum in the 1960s with the rise of student activism and the Vietnam War. The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18 for all elections.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, extended several times and most recently in 1982, abolished remaining deterrents to exercising the right to vote and authorized federal supervision of voter registration. The Act also prohibited voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group.
