VOTING RIGHTSLecture 6.4

A. Voting Rights

1) 1789 White male property owners

2) 15th Amendment-(1870)cannot discriminate based on race, color, or previous servitude

3) 19th Amendment-(1920)cannot deny right to vote based on sex

4) 24th Amendment-(1964)cannot charge a poll tax to vote

5) 26th Amendment-(1971)anyone over the age of 18 can now vote

B. The matter of voting is up to the states with the exception of 5 restrictions made by the constitution. 1) each of the states allows

the same voters to vote in all elections within the states

2) Race or color or because they were a slave

3) Based on sex4) Cannot require a poll tax5) 18

C. The Civil Rights Act of 19571) Set up the U.S. CIVIL

RIGHTS COMMISSION 2) Gave the attorney general

the right to seek federal COURT ORDER to prevent actions that interfered with the voting rights of qualified citizens.

D. The Civil Rights Act of 19601) Provided for the appointment of federal VOTING REFEREES.

-Their duty was to make sure that qualified citizens were

allowed to REGISTER and VOTE in federal elections.

E. The Civil Rights Act of 19641) forbade discriminatory REGISTRATION OR

LITERACY requirements.2) Relied heavily on the use of the COURT

system to overcome racial discrimination.3) Its shortcomings became clear when Martin

Luther KING JR organized a voter registration drive in the city of SELMA ALABAMA. Efforts to register African-American voters were met with violent opposition.

• The Voting Rights Act of 1965• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 attacked the use of the

POLL tax and LITERACY tests.• It authorized the appointment of VOTING EXAMINERS in any

State or county in which less than HALF of the electorate had been registered or VOTED in the 1964 elections.

• In 1975 the law was extended to cover States and counties in which more than FIVE percent of the adult population belongs to the following groups: LANGUAGE MINORITIES

HISPANIC, NATIVE AMERICANS, ASIAN AMERICANS, AND ALASKAN NATIVES

Preclearance

Voting Rights Act of 1965

For any of the below to happen had to be approved by Justice

Dept.

No new election laws No changes to election laws

The only new laws must permitted

could not weaken minority voting rights

Those cases that would not make preclearance

• Location of polling place1• Boundaries of election districts2• Deadlines in the election process3• From ward or district to at-large

elections4• Qualifications candidates must meet

in order to run for office 5

Representative John Lewis