Voting In America

Improved Essays
Voting plays a big role in the United States of America, representative democracy. Citizens have the opportunity to exercise indirect power to govern by voting. The vote is the formal expression of preference to a particular candidate. In the United States, voting is a mechanism that ensures that the majority will rule. People vote to choose government officials who will represent their interest. The franchise, or suffrage, is the right to vote. Today, all citizens of the United States eighteen years old and over are eligible to vote. The only exceptions are felons in prison, on probation, and on parole. Present conditions were not achieved quickly.
Throughout two centuries the voting rights were systematically denied for certain groups of
…show more content…
The final outcome of fighters with racial segregation and discrimination was passage of the Twenty-fourth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Twenty-fourth Amendment, passed in 1964, made unconstitutional any law that required paying poll tax in order to participate in federal elections. However, the poll tax still existed in some states until Supreme Court in 1966 ruled that the poll tax was unconstitutional violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment at every level, not just in federal elections. Congress abolished literacy tests in the South with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and nationwide in 1970. After the Twenty-sixth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 removed the last remaining barrier in suffrage discrimination, the low voter registration rate showed that only small percent of eligible citizens exercising their constitutional right. The reason is complicated and outdated voter registration system. The voter registration rules differ from state to state. In most cases it is the voter responsibility to prove their eligibility before the Election Day. State authorities often required proof of age, citizenship, and residence. In order to keep people well informed on voter registration process and enhance voting opportunities, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 was enacted. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, popularly known as the Motor Voter Act, requires states to provide American citizens with the opportunity to register to vote at the same time that they apply for a driver 's license or renew a driver 's license. I believe that measures taken by government affected public policy. As we can see today, government is obligated to consider opinions of young population, women and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Voice Of America in Chains Voting is a large part of what America is today. “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”. The voice of the people is what makes the big decisions in America and mostly through choosing who will represent us in our government in elections. This makes the vote valuable, because it has the power to make decisions and change outcomes. Although many will argue that Mandatory voting will provide a better representation of the Consensus, it will actually demote civic virtues and limit individual freedoms.…

    • 329 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Voting Dbq

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Before the passing of the Voting Rights Act by the United States Congress in 1965, there used to be racial discrimination in the voting system. Poor African Americans, Hispanic people and even white women were not allowed to cast their vote during election. According to textbook, these people were prohibited from voting by implementing different techniques for the voting such as poll tax, white primary. The poor African American People as well as white women, and Hispanic people were unable to afford the poll tax that was mandatory for the participation in the voting process (p274-275). At that time, even it was required to be a member of Democratic Party to be nominated as a candidate for office.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Today in America, our youth are taught that the right to vote it one of the most important rights we have. It can help us shape our future as a country. But what if this cherished belief weren’t true? There are those that argue that a single a single person’s vote cannot make a difference. But are they right?…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For many years, gaining equality has been an objective of many blacks in America. Having endured slavery, discrimination, and constant denial of their fundamental rights by white Americans, blacks began standing up for their rights and demanding those freedoms delegated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The Declaration of Independence affirms that all men are created as equals and guarantees no person or class of persons shall be deprived of their unalienable rights, such as their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Voter Suppression Essay

    • 1891 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Voter Suppression is alleged to be a strategy to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing people from exercising the right to vote. In the past, intimidation has been a factor of voter suppression since the Jim Crow laws. The Republican National Committee came under fire in the early 1980s when it sponsored the creation of the group called National Ballot Security Task Force to patrol polling stations in every vote fraud. On 1920, the 19th amendment to the constitution was ratified, enfranchising all American women and declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Intimidation, violence, and racial discrimination in state voting laws, an amount of three…

    • 1891 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Voting Process

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The first section states that “the right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by an state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry, 2012, p. 64).…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    America is a democracy, which means that government officials are elected by the general public. This makes the right to vote one of the most important rights a citizen has. Through voting, people are able to participate in politics by making their voice heard on what they want from the government. There are many times throughout the year when a vote is held, either for elections or on various laws. Of these, the presidential election is the most important.…

    • 1395 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    As of today, almost 6 million citizens are incarcerated and stripped of their given right to vote, these men and women have their voices, thoughts, and opinions silenced due to their past mistakes. “This is a fundamental question on democracy”, said the Sentencing Project’s executive director Marc Mauer. “These polices go back to the founding of this country.” (McLaughin 1). Although some might say that they have broken the law, therefore they should not be allowed to walk amongst decent people let alone be given the right to vote.…

    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The concept of voting is defined to be one of the most significant powers held by all individuals within a democratic form of government. The Fifteenth Amendment addresses the voting rights adhered to the citizens of America (Epps, theatlantic.com). Tracing back to the ratification of the Constitution, the Founding Fathers rooted the power concerning suffrage rights upon the independent states. Due to the states having the sole authority in establishing the laws concerning suffrage, restrictions were implemented that have evolved, but continue to be in existence within the democratic state of our country (Sidlow and Henschen 188-189). Expansion of the voting rights within the United States can be defined as one of the most remarkable achievements…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    As the upcoming Presidential election approaches, many citizens believe their personal vote will elect the next President and Vice President. However, the framers of the U.S. Constitution decided to have a different process instead of using the popular vote. As the form of government was being discussed, America was not as large as it is today.…

    • 1632 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1965 Voting Rights Act

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Only after the national government assumed a stronger role in the protection of civil rights was equal legal citizenship achieved. For instance, determination of voting rights is an issue traditionally left to state legislatures, a role that bolstered the second class status of African Americans due to their underrepresentation, therefore providing no incentives to politicians to protect their rights. The 1965 Voting Rights Act, seen by opponents as a tyrannical overreach of federal power, carved out authority for the national government to prevent maneuvers intended to disenfranchise black voters such as literacy tests and poll taxes, drastically increasing the political power of African Americans. The widening sphere of responsibility for the national government thus expanded the inclusivity of American democracy, allowing previously oppressed groups to voice their…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Fourteenth Amendment states that no state will make or enforce any law that can restrict the privileges or immunities of the people of the United States (Gans). The Fifteenth Amendment gives the right to vote to any man no matter the race (Foner). The Nineteenth Amendment gives the right to vote to women. With those three amendments it would seem that any person of legal age could vote, but not all people agreed. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned segregation and was supposed to help with voting, but the people…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to the U.S. Census, voting for presidential election has increases in the state of Virginia over the years. The voting has increased from 51.1 in 2000 to 62.5 in 2008. However, there has been a major decrease in the number of votes for the house of Representatives from 39.5 in 2006 to 35.6 in 2010. The census also proved that 60.4 percent of voters registered in the state of Virginia. Out of this, only 38.4 percent voted in 2010.…

    • 232 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1869, an amendment was made to our constitution that granted all men the right to vote regardless of race, color or ethnicity. Roughly 50 years later, another amendmendment passed that granted women the right to vote (King). Today, we face the same the same problem which is the denial of suffrage faced by active members of US society. The adolescents in America are being denied a constitutional right to vote. At the age of 16, a person possesses the ability to drive a car, leave school, and seek full time employment (Griffin).…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is important for people to make the right choice when voting for political figures. Who people vote for effects everyone. The people we elect to office are going to be there for a while so it’s important that they stand for the right values. The only way we are going to know what they stand for is if we are willing to take the time to research it and find out.…

    • 1776 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays