Transcript Voting & Elections #2

Voting & Elections
#2
The Struggle!
Who is eligible to vote?
• 18 years old
• Citizen
• Register – fill out a registration card
Who is ineligible to vote?
• Anyone who does not meet the
requirements
• Some felons
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.
States Trump Federal Law
• For approximately 2 decades the
15th amendment is enforced
(enacted)
• 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
–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 are voting
–Outlawed literacy test
• 24th Amendment: ends poll tax
Voting #2: 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 ?
Women’s Movement
• 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) gives 1821 year olds are enfranchised or
given the franchise
26th Amendment:
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United
States, who are eighteen years of age or
older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States of by any state on
account of age.
In many elections, only 40-60% of
the eligible voters vote.
Why after so much struggle to
get the right to vote, do many
eligible voters choose not to
vote?