Aug 22, 2024 · Federal laws govern voting rights. Learn about the laws and how they protect your rights and make it easier for you to vote. U.S. election laws date back to Article 1 of the Constitution.

Voting rights, specifically enfranchisement and disenfranchisement of different groups, have been a moral and political issue throughout United States history. Eligibility to vote in the United States is governed by the United States Constitution and by federal and state laws.

Jul 29, 2022 · The Fourteenth Amendment contains the Equal Protection clause, a landmark part of the foundation for why all citizens are guaranteed due process and equal treatment under the laws of the land.

Oct 6, 2023 · Although the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits racially discriminatory voting tactics and policies, including diluting the voting strength of racial minorities, Black people and communities of color in particular continue to face numerous obstacles to voting.

Voting rights, in U.S. history and politics, are a set of legal and constitutional protections designed to ensure the opportunity to vote in local, state, and federal elections for the vast majority of adult citizens. The right to vote is an essential element of democracy.

Feb 2, 2024 · The history of voting rights in America is marred by instances of voter suppression, disenfranchisement, and systemic barriers that have sought to undermine the principle of equal representation. From poll taxes and literacy tests to gerrymandering and voter fraud, efforts to suppress certain segments of the population from exercising their ...

Oct 17, 2024 · Provides information on certain civil provisions of federal law that protect the right to vote, including prohibitions on intimidation and discrimination, and rules allowing voters to have someone of their choice help them in the voting process.

Sep 18, 2024 · Congress has enacted laws to safeguard voting rights and has empowered the Department of Justice to enforce them. This fact sheet is a resource for jurisdictions and provides information on certain civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote.

Using this analytical approach, the Court has established a regime of close review of a vast range of state restrictions on the eligibility to vote, on access to the ballot by candidates and parties, and on the weighing of votes cast through the devices of apportionment and districting.

People seeking the ideals of equality and justice have used their natural rights to speak, write, and assemble, as guaranteed in the First Amendment, to pursue laws and constitutional amendments expanding equality and voting.

Jul 17, 2023 · What is the Voting Rights Act of 1965? Regarded as the legislative crown jewel of the civil rights era, the Voting Rights Act was enacted as a comprehensive tool meant to undo the political hold of Jim Crow policies in the South and related discriminatory structures nationwide.

Jul 2, 2024 · Unlike the U.S. Constitution, 49 of the 50 state constitutions explicitly affirm the right to vote. They often mandate that elections be "free," "equal," or "open," and include provisions to protect voters while voting.

Sep 13, 2021 · Ways the States Tried to Deny African-Americans Their Voting Rights "Grandfather Clauses": If your grandfather couldn't vote, you had to pass a test or pay a fee to voter. This was designed so that only white men could vote, since only white men had the right to vote before the 15th Amendment.

Aug 16, 2018 · The 1960 Act permitted federal courts to appoint voting referees to conduct voter registration following a judicial finding of voting discrimination. The 1964 Act also contained several relatively minor voting-related provisions.

Apr 19, 2021 · Since America’s founding days, when voting was limited to white male property owners, to the transformative Voting Rights Act of 1965, to sweeping voting process reform introduced in the early...

Nov 18, 2019 · The struggle for equal voting rights came to a head in the 1960s as many states, particularly in the South, dug in on policies—such as literacy tests, poll taxes, English-language requirements, and more—aimed at suppressing the vote among people of color, immigrants and low-income populations.

The Supreme Court has applied principles of equal protection to various types of requirements for voting and elections. According to the Supreme Court, [t]he States have long been held to have broad powers to determine the conditions under which the right of suffrage may be exercised. . . absent of course the discrimination which the ...

We’re at the forefront of some of our nation’s most consequential voting rights legal cases. In the courts, we work to secure and protect the right to early and mail-in voting, fight for fair representation in district maps, and push back against discriminatory laws and practices.

It was necessary because many states resisted granting equal rights and voting access to African Americans, so federal laws were needed to counteract state-level discrimination. These two sections together show that the 15th Amendment wasn’t just symbolic; it was a call for action and accountability to protect the voting rights of all ...

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub. L. 88–352, 78 Stat. 241, enacted July 2, 1964) is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, [a] and national origin. [4] It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools and public accommodations, and employment …

The freedom to vote is the most sacred right we have, yet it is under constant attack. Since the Shelby County v. Holder decision, a slew of discriminatory anti-voter bills have been introduced or enacted to restrict access to the ballot box. Many voters today feel disengaged from politics, but ...

Sep 9, 2024 · Congress has enacted laws to safeguard voting rights and has empowered the Department of Justice to enforce them. This fact sheet is a resource for jurisdictions and provides information on certain civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote.

Jan 31, 2025 · The Civil Rights Division plays a role in protecting the right to vote, an area that has become more contentious since Trump claimed that the 2020 election was stolen and that undocumented ...

Jan 14, 2025 · Amendments on reproductive rights, voting rights, and marriage equality clear the House; Republicans back “right-to-work” safeguard. By: Charlotte Rene Woods - January 14, ... Voting rights. A second proposed constitutional amendment aims to restore rights to individuals who have completed their prison sentences for felony convictions ...

On this date, Representative Bella Savitzky Abzug of New York introduced the Equality Act of 1974, a landmark bill in the struggle to establish a legal basis for the rights of gay Americans. Abzug’s proposal sought to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which had barred discrimination in public accommodations, education, employment, and federal programs based on “race, color, …

Jan 17, 2025 · The 1970s-era amendment passed by Congress would guarantee men and women equal rights under the law, but it took until 2020 for enough state legislatures to ratify it, missing a deadline set by ...

Jan 15, 2025 · In recent weeks, several groups have asked outgoing President Joe Biden to order the Archivist of the United States to certify the Equal Rights Amendment (or ERA) as the next amendment to the Constitution. Although the ERA’s ratification deadline passed in 1982, some people supporting the ERA believe that deadline is not in effect and the ERA should be the …

The Supreme Court’s equal protection jurisprudence as applied to voting laws has most prominently been developed in the context of redistricting. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution to require that electoral districts within a redistricting map contain an approximately equal number of persons, which is known as the equality ...

Jan 17, 2025 · State-level Equal Rights Amendments exist in 28 states. Modern ERAs have been passed recently in Nevada, in 2022, and New York, in 2024. These state-level ERAs are far more comprehensive than the ...

Jan 17, 2025 · The Equal Rights Amendment was first proposed more than a century ago and has taken a circuitous route to ratification. It easily passed both houses of Congress with the required two-thirds votes ...