Voters and Voters Behavior

1. Voters and Voter Behavior
Section 1

2. The Constitution and the Right to
Vote
• A. History of Voting Rights:
• 1. Early 1800’s—many regulations
were removed from voting rights:
religious, property ownership,
taxes

3. • 2. 15th Amendment—removed
racial barriers after Civil War
• *African Americans still faced
voting barriers

4. • 3. 19th Amendment—allowed
women the right to vote in 1920

5. • 4. In 1960, Congress:
–Banned poll taxes
–Passed the Voting Rights Act
–Allowed residents of DC the right
to vote
–*All these expanded the voting
rights of African Americans

6. • B. Power to Set Voting
Qualifications:
• 1. Constitution reserves the States
rights to set suffrage
requirements—but restricts their
use of that power

7. • 2. These restrictions prohibit the
States from withholding suffrage
from groups protected by the
Constitution
• *African Americans
• *Women
• *Persons above the age of 18

8. • 3. Forbid the use of poll taxes
• 4. Require States to allow persons
qualified to vote in lower house of
State Legislature to vote for
members of Congress (Senate)

9. Section 2: Voter Qualifications
• Citizenship of Residents
• 1. Citizenship
–Aliens are not allowed to vote,
although the Const. does not
specifically prohibit it

10. Citizenship Cont.
• Only Minnesota has a distinction
between native born and
naturalized citizens

11. • 2. Residence
–All states have resident
requirements
–Prevents election fraud (See
Bloody Kansas)
–Helps ensure residents get to know
who is running for office and what
issues are

12. Residence Cont.
• 1972—SC ruled states could not
require a waiting period of longer
than 30 days
• Almost all states deny the right to
vote to transients

13. • 3. Age
–26th Amendment sets 18 as the
minimum age to vote
–Many states do allow 17 year
olds to vote in primary
elections IF they will turn 18
before the general election

14. Other Qualifications…
• 1. Registration
• States require voters to show
identification when they reg. to
vote

15. • 2. Literacy:
• Tests were used to ensure voters
had capacity to cast informed
ballot
• Used against blacks
• Banned by Congress in 1970

16. • 3. Tax Payments
• Poll taxes were common in the
South
• Banned by Congress in 1960’s

17. • 4. Who may not vote
• Mentally incompetent
• Criminals
• Some states do not let those
dishonorably discharged from
Military to vote
• Homeless and Polygamists not
allowed to vote in some states