Chapter 6:
Suffrage/Franchise
(right to vote)
Federalism dictates
that qualification is a
state or local issue.
---but why?
1789
At
first only white
male property
owners
Benjamin
Man
Today’s
Voting
Franklin
or the jackass
electorate
population
210 million
Two Trends
1.
Elimination
Gradual
removal of
restrictions
Race,
2.
sex, religion,
property ownership
Federalism
Responsibility
is
gradually shifting
to the federal level.
Extending Suffrage
1.
Removal of
religious and
property
qualification
1810
2.
all white males
Removal of
Racial qualification
15th
amendment
 3.
Removal of Sex
qualification
 19th
amendment
 4.
Removal of burdens
 5.
Set minimum age at
18
 Civil
Rights Acts
 Poll tax and other
raciest laws
Restrictions on State’s Right to
set voting qualifications
 1.
Vote in all elections
 2. Restrictions on race
 3. Restrictions on sex
 4. payment
 5. 18 years old
 Where
are these
restrictions listed?
 Why must the states
obey this?
Universal Requirements: 3
 1.
Citizenship
 Constitution
says
nothing on this matter
At
one time
territories allowed non
citizens to vote to
attract settlers
Distinctions between
native and foreign born
citizens
 Minnesota:
3
 Pennsylvania: 1
Residency as a Universal
Requirement
 All
states require you to be
a legal resident of that
state in order to vote
 Why?
Importing
Familiar with
candidate
local regent and
 Growing
trend in reducing
time required
Exceptions
 Transients…no
 College students…yes
Final Universal Requirement
Pg
153
18
Why?
World
war two
Vietnam
How successful has
it been?
Never
48%
higher then
Registration
 Procedure
of voter
identification intended
to prevent fraudulent
voting
 1900
 Europe
 Why
here?
Motor
Voter Law
Make registration
easier
How important is the right to vote?
To those who lack it, life itself.
During
the 1960
Civil Rights
Workers
Arrest
Beatings
Cattle
Death
prods
lynching
15th Amendment
Cannot
be denied
to any citizen of
the United States
because of race,
color, or condition
of servitude
Not
self-executing
Lack enforcement
Congress must act
Congress: The Federal Governments
attempt to reverse federalism
Tactics
to evade
the 15th
Violence
Literacy
tests
Registration laws
Poll taxes
Gerrymandering
Political “private”
parties
 Congress
 Outlaw
Acts
exclusion from
political parties
1944
Smith
v Allwright
 Gerrymandering
1960
Gomillion
 Civil
v Lightfoot
Rights Laws
1960
Martin
Luther King Jr.
Civil Rights Acts solidify the
15th Amendment
 1957
 Civil
Rights Act
Civil
Right Commission
 Inquire
 Report to Congress and Public
 Power to refer problems to federal
 1960
court
 Federal
voting referees
Serve
anywhere where federal court
finds a problem
Help with voter registration
Another Civil Rights Act
1964
Outlaws
discrimination
Federal
Crime
Injunction
Restrains
the
actions of another
individual
Federal crime
1965 Johnson answers Dr.
King’s Call…
1965
Applies to all elections
Must revote on extension
Pre-clearance
Location of polling places
Boundaries of election districts
Deadlines in the election
process
Ward to at large election
Qualifications candidates must
meet
Book Work
Section
4
Assessment
Page 172
1-6