Constitution Day

This guide to DI's observance of Constitution Day offers an introduction to the United States Constitution and focuses on voting, a right guaranteed by the Constitution and its Amendments. The guide offers recommended resources for learning more about historical and current issues related to voting. Navigate this guide using the topics on the left.

As part of DI's observation of Constitution Day, we encourage you to learn more about the United States Constitution and voting rights.

Voting and the Constitution

Although the Constitution and Constitutional Amendments guarantee voting rights in theory, in practice, there are many barriers to voting access for many communities. Listed below are voting rights rooted in the Constitution.

Voting Rights Laws and Constitutional Amendments

U.S. election laws date back to Article 1 of the Constitution. This gave states the responsibility of overseeing federal elections. Many Constitutional amendments and federal laws to protect voting rights have been passed since then which limit states' freedom in deciding who can and cannot vote.

Constitutional Amendments Affecting Voting Rights

• The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, granted African Americans the rights of citizenship but also defined citizens and voters as "male."

• The 15th Amendment, ratified two years later in 1870, declared that the right of citizens to vote could not be denied based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." But many African American men weren't able to exercise this right. Some states used literacy tests and other barriers to make it harder to vote.

• The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, gave American women the right to vote. 

• The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, eliminated poll taxes. These taxes had been used in some states to keep African Americans from voting in federal elections. 

• The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age for all elections to 18.

Laws and Court Decisions Affecting Voting Rights

• In 1915, the US Supreme Court ruled that the "grandfather clause," which said you could not vote unless your grandfather had voted, was unconstitutional. Many states had used this clause to prevent descendents of slaves from voting.

• The Snyder Act of 1924 admitted Native Americans to full US citizenship. However, it took over forty years for all fifty states to allow Native Americans to vote, and after that they continued to face many of the same barriers to voting that African Americans did.

• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 directed the Attorney General to enforce the right to vote for African Americans, Native Americans, and other citizens; prohibited states from using literacy tests and other methods designed to prevent eligible citizens from voting; and required states with a history of voter discrimination to get federal approval before passing voter restrictions.

• In 2013, the US Supreme Court struck down the requirement that states with a history of voter discrimination to get federal approval before passing voter restrictions.

• The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984 required polling places to be accessible to people with disabilities.

• The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) of 1986 allowed members of the armed forces and overseas US voters to register and vote by mail. The Military and Overseas Voting Empowerment (MOVE) Act of 2009 improved access to voting by military and overseas voters.

Sources:

Library of Congress. (n.d.). The Right to Vote. loc.gov/classroom-materials/elections/right-to-vote/

USA.gov. (2021, June 8). Voting and Election Laws. usa.gov/voting-laws