Voting Rights

The Voting Rights Act was passed to protect state and local governments to not pass laws or policies that deny American citizens the equal right to vote based on their race. The United States should work to keep voting free and fair for everyone to have the rights to vote. The voting right it is important because it makes sure every citizen, regardless of their race, has an equal opportunity to have a say what they want. Shelby County V. Holder, is a historical United States Supreme court case regarding the authority of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. About Section 5 Voting Rights it requires local governments and certain states to get federal permission before starting any changes to their voting laws or practices. Section 4 includes the

Voting has been a core part of our government since the very beginning, however, many citizens chose not to take part in this essential participation. To prevent any one person from gaining too much power voting was put in place as well as checks and balances in the system by the founding fathers. While not everything is decided by voting because our government is a Constitutional Republic, voting is by far the most important way a citizen can participate in the government. Therefore, it’s baffling that people chose not to vote. As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” While we can all agree that voting is important there is a debate on whether it should be mandatory. Voting should be an optional but important way to participate in the government.

Being able to cast my first vote in the 21st century is a privilege. My generation needs to accept their patriotic responsibility and vote because many reforms are needed in order to carry us into the new millennium. Voting reforms are necessary to inspire political participation for other modifications and adjustments needed in areas such as health care, education, and Social Security, all which we as young people will face in the future. Participation in elections is necessary to facilitate and enable progress, but our present day system of voting is expiring by frustrated Americans.

Once African American’s were given the right to vote the infamous literacy tests became a prerequisite to vote in southern states. This was a nuisance to the African Americans because they were in place to put a barrier between African Americans and voting, these test were impossible for most African Americans. Another part of the voting process that became difficult and complicated for African Americans was the Application itself. The application differed from state to state but in order to fill it out completely the person would have to include personal information about themselves. Comparing the application to modern applications shows the intentions of the officials and how “important” the questions were.

Voting was not always fair, especially for colored people. People who were white could vote without problems. Not only did blacks have rights, but Indians couldn't vote. Soon after almost 100 years Native Americans could finally vote.Today everyone has the right to vote no matter what race they are.

In the early years of the United States, voting laws were very strict and only a select few people were able to vote. In 1776, only people who owned land were permitted to vote. Most people in this category were white males over the age of 21. This continued for many decades: in 1790 the Naturalization Law passed. It explicitly stated that only “free white” immigrants can become naturalized citizens. This gave only free white people the right to vote- very little progress was being made.

Voting is a right that is given to all citizens by the 15th Amendment of the Constitution. Although the 15th amendment was ratified in 1870. It was not until The Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed that African Americans got to exercise their right to vote under the 15th amendment at the state and local level; which overcame the legal barriers that existed at those levels that was in place to prevent African Americans from voting.

As said in PBS, “Literacy tests were used to keep people of color -- and, sometimes, poor whites -- from voting, and they were administered at the discretion of the officials in charge of voter registration” (The Rise and Fall of jim crow). They would give people that wanted rights a test on American history or laws If a black person went to take the test they would give them a harder test. Sometimes people trying ti gain rights could not even read in english. Also a lot of the blacks did not have a great education at the time so it made it extremely difficult for them. The Literacy test were unfair to some people that wanted

When people’s rights are suppressed, they have to stand together for themselves in order to win those rights back. In the 1960s, African-Americans marched together in a series of peaceful demonstrations in order to demand the right to vote which was a right that had been long suppressed. The Civil Rights Movements led to the Voting Rights Act which was a great achievement for African-Americans on their way to attaining equal rights because this act protected African-Americans’ right to vote from being suppressed by state governments.

Voting rights have been intertwined with every part of our history. The fight for the right to vote started evolving before the American Revolution and hasn’t completely stopped. Due to taxation and ruling from King George of England, many colonists were upset with how they were living in the new colonies. They wanted freedom from a king and independence so they could choose how to live. But the American Revolution did not bring as much freedom in government as the people may have hoped. The creation of the Constitution, and the then Bill of Rights, enabled the people to have the limited government they desired. It did not include policies for social welfare and justice, but it was open to be edited in the future. When certain policies, like voting, where brought to people’s attention, cultural differences impacted how some people voted throughout history. The founding fathers were smart to leave the Bill of Rights amendable. Through amendments

America has been built on the idea that as citizens, we have the choice to decide what is the best for our country. Millions of Americans cast their vote every election day to make sure their voices are heard on who is going to run their country and what new policies they will bring with them. As stated in Anny Shin’s article, “Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history-making moment at the polls,” voting is a, “valuable privilege,” in which many don’t realize. In the United States, not every is allowed to vote, only 18-year old citizens are allowed to vote. However the number of 18-year olds voting is very low and this has been an issue in the political for quite a while. The concerns and desires of most millennials are not being expressed as many are not voting. Many, like the city of Takoma have proposed to allow 16 and 17-year olds to vote as they believe that voting among millennials will increase.

Without this right, people can be easily ignored and even abused by their government. Following the Civil War, African American citizens living in the South were disenfranchised by state government making literacy test and property tests (Brooker). Despite the 14th and 15th amendments affirming the civil rights of Black Americans, their right to vote was systematically taken away by white supremacist state government ("Preclearance, past and present; Voting rights") officials (Conway 68). Governments placed a literacy test for Black Americans because they claimed that blacks were too illiterate to understand how voting worked (Brooker). This did not infringe on the 15th Amendment, which is why legislature was allowed to follow through with their actions. Since slaves never went to school, they were unable to pass these tests. Some white Americans were also affected by this test. To compensate for illiterate whites, State legislature such as Alabama and North Carolina passed the Grandfather Clause ("Direct Disenfranchisement"). It enabled illiterate white Americans who were unable to pass the Literacy test still have the ability to vote in the polls. If a white male had a grandfather who served in the army or previously voted, that male was allowed to vote. Another test that successfully prevented Black Americans from voting was the property test ("Preclearance, past and present; Voting rights"). Before

The Voting Rights Act 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973 et seq., decision is important regarding the laws governing voting rights and their relationship to minority voters. Its implication and effects however does not end within the legal realms and dimensions but continues through to society, culture, and human rights. The Voting Rights Act initially established in 1965 under Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration protected “racial minorities” from biased voting practices. It was a huge stride in the civil rights movement and a victory over harmful, archaic, and biased voting practices and traditions.

The introduction of the voting right act into the American constitution represented justice for all American citizens, created equality irrespective of race, gender or social status and eliminated unnecessary impediments that prevented individuals from voting. The right to vote evolved from a privilege to an

Voting is a central right to each American citizen. Your vote is your chance to be listened, to hold chosen elected officials responsible for their actions and to have a say in vital issues that influences your community. You can 't have an effectively run democratic government without the backing and votes of the citizens. Voting gives the capacity for individuals to express their opinions about the administration. Each vote consoles our majority rule government and makes it stronger; we can 't allow it to weaken and crumble. A large number of Americans battled for our rights, they shed their blood to give us what we have today. Whether you vote or not, somebody will be chosen president. What 's more, that individual will be your leader, settling on choices that influence you and this nation for a long time to come.