Voters and Voter Behavior
Suffrage & Civil Rights
15th Amendment
• Ratified in 1870
• Right to vote can’t be denied to any U.S. citizen b/c
of one’s race, color or previous condition of
servitude
• Given the circumstances of U.S. in 1870, was this a
law that could be easily enforceable?
15th Amendment
• African-Americans generally were kept away from
the polls in the South b/w 1870-1965
• Groups that disagreed w/the 15th Amendment
used:
– Violence
– Subtle threats
– Literacy tests
– Poll taxes
15th Amendment
• One tactic was gerrymandering – practice of drawing
electoral district lines to limit voting strengths of a
particular group/PP
• http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd?sta
te=AL
• http://www.foxnews.com/interactive/politics/electionmap2010/#race=racesInPlay&pres=false&tab=senate&state
=us-senate
15th Amendment
• Results of gerrymandering in the South
– Democrats dominated nearly every political office at
every level, and most candidates were white
• PP were considered to be “private associations”,
which by law meant they could exclude anyone for
no reason
– Party primaries were only voted on by party members
15th Amendment
• 1944 – Smith v. Allwright (Texas)
– Outlawed exclusion of voters in primary voting
– All political parties are public functions, thus cannot
exclude particular people
15th Amendment
• 1960 – Gomillion v. Lightfoot (Alabama)
– AL legislature redrawn electoral district in Tuskegee,
eliminating all blacks from the city limits
– S.C. ruled that gerrymandering for racial purposes
violated 15th Amendment
Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Outlawed discrimination in job-related situations
• Forbid any extra voter requirement used in an
unfair/discriminatory manner
• Allowed injunctions to enforce law
– Court order that forces/limits performance of some act
by a private individual/public official
– Punishable by fine or imprisonment
Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Outlawed discrimination in job-related situations
• Forbid any extra voter requirement used in an
unfair/discriminatory manner
• Allowed injunctions to enforce law
– Court order that forces/limits performance of some act
by a private individual/public official
– Punishable by fine or imprisonment
Civil Rights Act of 1964
• SNCC started a voter registration drive for AfricanAmericans in Selma, AL
• March 7, 1965 – 600 people began march from
Selma to Montgomery
• Law enforcement met group at Edmund Pettus
Bridge – attacking group with billy clubs, tear gas,
rubber tubes wrapped in wires
Civil Rights Act of 1964
• SNCC started a voter registration drive for AfricanAmericans in Selma, AL
• March 7, 1965 – 600 people began march from
Selma to Montgomery
• Law enforcement met group at Edmund Pettus
Bridge – attacking group with billy clubs, tear gas,
rubber tubes wrapped in wires
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Applied to all elections held anywhere in the
country
• Originally only supposed to law for 5 years –
Congress extended it 4 times
– Most recent extension granted 25 years
• Suspended literacy tests in any state/county where
less than 1/2 electorate voted in 1964 elections
Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Authorized attorney general appoint voting
examiners to serve in any state/county
• Any new election law, or change in pre-existing
election laws, can go into effect w/o preclearance
from the Dept. of Justice
– Approval by DOJ
Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Preclearance will not be given if 1 of the following is
violated:
– Location of polling places
– Boundaries of electoral districts
– Deadlines in election process
– From ward to at-large elections
– Qualifications of candidates must meet to run for office