The Right To Vote: Constitutional Eligibility

The original US Constitution does not explicitly outline who is allowed to vote, instead leaving it to the states to determine eligibility. This led to significant variability, with some states restricting voting rights to white male adult property owners, while others did not specify race or protected the rights of men of any race to vote. Women were largely prohibited from voting, as were men without property. Over time, a series of constitutional amendments were passed to extend voting rights to a wider group of citizens, including the 15th Amendment, which prohibits restricting the right to vote based on race, and the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in 1920. Today, federal laws continue to protect Americans' right to vote, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group.

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Voting rights for racial minorities

The original US Constitution did not define voting rights for citizens, and until 1870, only white men were allowed to vote. The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, extended voting rights to men of all races. However, this amendment was not enough to grant African Americans the right to vote due to state constitutions and laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, the "grandfather clause", and outright intimidation.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, passed in 1868, granted citizenship to formerly enslaved Americans, but this did not translate into the ability to vote. Black voters were systematically turned away from many state polling places. The Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause allows states to require a duration of residency as a qualification to vote, but such requirements will be deemed unconstitutional unless the state can demonstrate a compelling interest.

The Twenty-fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, addressed this injustice by prohibiting the use of poll taxes in federal elections. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 further secured voting rights for adult citizens of all races and genders by enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment and prohibiting voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group. It also required certain places to provide election materials in languages other than English and placed limits on states with a history of voter discrimination.

Despite these gains, the struggle for voting rights for racial minorities in the United States has been ongoing. Even after the Fifteenth Amendment, states continued to discriminate against Black voters and deny them the right to vote. During the Jim Crow era, many African Americans who attempted to register to vote faced physical threats or the fear of losing their jobs and homes. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) called on the federal government to mandate that states follow the court's rulings on the right of Black Americans to have equal access to the vote.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 remains one of the most significant achievements in the fight for voting rights for racial minorities, and it has been amended and renewed several times since its enactment.

Voting rights for women

The original U.S. Constitution did not explicitly mention the right to vote, and instead left states with the power to decide who qualified to vote. While most states restricted voting to property-owning or tax-paying white men, some states, like New Jersey, allowed free Black men and women of both races to vote, provided they met property or tax requirements.

The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, barred states from denying the right to vote "on account of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude". Despite this, states across the South enacted racially discriminatory policies, such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and felony disenfranchisement laws, which kept many Black women, Black men, and other voters of colour out of the democratic process.

The 19th Amendment, ratified on August 18, 1920, granted American women the right to vote, stating that "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". However, this did not ensure full enfranchisement for women, and many remained unable to vote due to discriminatory state voting laws. For women of colour, the realization of the right to vote would take several more decades, as the 19th Amendment did not eradicate the systemic racism that pervaded the South and other regions.

In the years after 1869, several provinces held by the British and Russian empires conferred women's suffrage, and some of these later became sovereign nations, including New Zealand, Australia, and Finland. Most major Western powers extended voting rights to women by the interwar period, including Canada (1917), Germany (1918), and the United Kingdom (1918, for women over 30 who met certain property requirements). Notable exceptions in Europe were France, where women could not vote until 1944, Greece, where equal voting rights for women were not achieved until 1952, and Switzerland, where women gained the right to vote at the federal level in 1971.

Voting rights for those without property

The original US Constitution did not define who was eligible to vote, leaving each state to determine voter eligibility. This led to significant variation across the nation, with most states initially restricting voting rights to property-owning or tax-paying white men. However, some states, like New Jersey, allowed free Black men and women of both races to vote, provided they met certain property or tax requirements. Notably, the Supreme Court of North Carolina upheld the voting rights of free African Americans in the state.

Over time, states began expanding voting rights to more citizens, but this process was uneven due to the lack of federal standardization. By 1856, white men could vote in all states regardless of property ownership, although tax-paying requirements remained in a few states. The 14th Amendment, passed after the abolition of slavery, was a significant step towards equal voting rights, guaranteeing that rights of citizenship, such as voting, could not be restricted by the states based on race. The 15th Amendment further solidified this by explicitly prohibiting the restriction of voting rights due to race.

The push for equal voting rights continued, and in 1869, Wyoming granted women the right to vote, well before it was achieved nationally with the 19th Amendment in 1920. The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, eliminated poll taxes, which had been used to disenfranchise low-income citizens and prevent them from voting. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group, and required certain places to provide election materials in languages other than English.

Today, while the US Constitution does not explicitly mention a right to vote, almost all state constitutions do. The variability in voting rights continues, with felons, for example, being allowed to vote in some states but not in others.

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Voting rights for those without citizenship

The US Constitution does not explicitly state that citizens have the right to vote in elections. However, federal laws and constitutional amendments have been passed over the years to protect Americans' right to vote and make it easier for citizens to exercise that right. These include the Civil Rights Acts, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984.

While US election laws date back to Article 1 of the Constitution, which gave states the responsibility of overseeing federal elections, the Constitution does not explicitly mention the right to vote. Instead, it states that anyone eligible to vote for the largest house of a state's legislature is also eligible to vote for members of the House of Representatives from that state. As a result, states were left with the power to decide who qualified to vote, leading to variations across the nation.

In the early years, most states restricted voting to property-owning or tax-paying white men, but some states, like New Jersey, allowed free Black men and women of both races to vote, provided they met property or tax requirements. Wyoming granted women the right to vote in 1869, long before it was achieved nationally with the 19th Amendment in 1920.

While the right to vote is generally reserved for US citizens, there are some exceptions for non-citizens in local elections. For instance, in 2016, San Francisco passed Proposition N, which gave non-citizens the right to vote in the city's school board elections. However, this was struck down by a San Francisco Superior Court Judge in 2022, citing that it violated the state Constitution. A California Court of Appeal later overturned this ruling, arguing that Proposition N was permissible under the state constitution.

Other localities that allow non-citizen voting in local elections include Chevy Chase Section 3, Colmar Manor, Edmonston, Riverdale Park, Somerset, and Takoma Park, Maryland. As of December 2022, non-citizen voting is also allowed in a handful of other locations, including Winooski and Montpelier in Vermont, and in eleven cities in Maryland near Washington, D.C. Additionally, the US territories of American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands allow non-citizen US nationals to vote.

Voting rights for young people

Prior to this amendment, the legal voting age varied, and young people faced barriers to casting their ballots. The original Constitution, which came into effect in 1789, did not explicitly define voting eligibility, leaving states with the power to determine who qualified to vote. Consequently, early voting rights were often restricted to property-owning or tax-paying white men, with women and racial minorities largely excluded.

However, as the nation progressed, a push for expanded voting rights emerged, and young people became increasingly involved in advocating for their right to participate in the democratic process. The youth-led movement to lower the voting age to 18 gained momentum and ultimately led to the enactment of the 26th Amendment. This amendment ensured that age would no longer be a barrier for young citizens seeking to engage in elections.

It's worth noting that, while the 26th Amendment guarantees the right to vote for citizens aged 18 and older, the specific voting requirements and procedures can vary from state to state. Some states may have additional eligibility criteria, such as residency requirements or voter ID laws. Nonetheless, the 26th Amendment serves as a cornerstone for youth political empowerment, ensuring that young people across the country have a say in choosing their representatives and shaping the country's future.

The fight for voting rights for young people didn't end with the 26th Amendment. Ongoing efforts continue to address barriers that may still exist for young voters, such as access to polling places, voter registration procedures, and civic education. By engaging in these discussions and advocating for inclusive and accessible voting processes, young people can further strengthen their electoral participation and ensure their voices are heard.

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