Transcript Voting & Elections #2

Voting &
Elections #2
The Struggle!
Who is eligible to vote?
• 18 years old
• Citizen
Those who are eligible must:
–Register – fill out a registration
card
Who is ineligible to vote?
• Anyone who does not meet the
requirements
In the beginning of our country,
who could vote?
• Males
• Property Owners
• Member of a Church
Universal Male Suffrage
• All free men could vote by 1860
Post - Civil War
• 15th Amendment: gives males,
African American and other races, the
right to vote
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote
shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of
race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article
by appropriate legislation.
It Works!
• For approximately 2 decades the 15th
amendment is enacted (enforced)
• Until, Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
began to allow states to restrict rights
including voting
Voting Restrictions
• Then states begin to abridge (reduce)
the voting rights of African Americans
by passing laws such as:
–Poll Tax: fine to vote
–Literacy Test: reading test
–Grandfather Clause: if your
grandfather could vote, so could you
Quick Quiz
Do Not Copy Question – Just
Write the Correct Answer!
1. Who is the commander-in-chief of the
army and navy?
2. In what year did the Congress gain the
right to prohibit the migration of persons
to the states?
3. What body can try impeachments of the
president of the United States?
4. Name the attorney general of the U.S.
5. At what time of day on January 20 each
four years does the term of the president
of the U.S. end?
If the laws did not work…
• Local people would use:
–Fear
–Harassment
–Coercion
–Violence
Civil Rights Movement
• African Americans & Others begin to
fight for rights in 1950’s and 60’s
http://www.sitins.com/2feb1960.pdf
Making Voting a Reality • Voting Rights Act of 1965: Ensured
that everyone voted by:
– Federal (National) Inspectors ensure
that all people have the opportunity to
vote
– Outlawed literacy test
• 24th Amendment: ends poll tax
Voting #4: More Struggle
Quick Review: Copy the question, if you wish.
1. Suffrage: Good or bad?
2. Which amendment number gives
African American males the right to
vote?
3. Which law ensured that everyone,
including ethnic minorities, were able
to vote in ALL states ?
Votes for Women!
• Women’s Suffrage
–19th
Amendment
(1919): women’s
right to vote
• During the Vietnam
War, men were
drafted at the age of
18, but could not
vote until they were
21
– 26th Amendment
(1971) 18-21 year
olds are
enfranchised or
given the
franchise
In many elections, only 4060% of the eligible voters
vote.
Why after so much struggle to get
the right to vote, do many eligible
voters choose not to vote?
Propositions
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19: Legalizing marijuana
20: Redistricting
21: State Parks
22: Transportation funds
23: Suspend air pollution law
24: Business Taxes
25: Budget Votes
26: Fees require 2/3 vote
27: Redistricting