Elections &
Voting
One of the most
important rights of American citizens is the franchise — the right to vote.
Originally under the Constitution, only white male citizens over the age of 21
were eligible to vote. This shameful injustice has been corrected and voting
rights have been extended several times over the course of our history. Today,
citizens over the age of 18 cannot be denied the right to vote, regardless of
race, religion, sex, disability, or sexual orientation. However, in every state
except North Dakota, citizens must register to vote, and laws regarding the
registration process vary by state.
The path to full
voting rights for all American citizens was long and often challenging. The
franchise was first extended to African Americans under the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution, passed during the Reconstruction
period after the Civil War. These guaranteed that all male citizens, regardless
of their race, would receive equal treatment under the law and not be deprived
of their rights without due process. The Fifteenth Amendment is specifically
dedicated to protecting the right of all citizens to vote, regardless of their
race.
For practical
purposes, this was not the end of the voting rights struggle for African
Americans. Because of widespread discrimination in some states, including the
use of poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and literacy tests, African Americans
were not assured full voting rights until President Lyndon Baines Johnson
signed the Voting Rights Act in 1965.
Women were
denied the right to vote until 1920, when the Nineteenth Amendment was passed.
Prior to that, women had only been able to vote in select states.
Federal
elections occur every two years, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
November. Every member of the House of Representatives and about one-third of
the Senate is up for reelection in any given election year. A presidential
election is held every fourth year.
Federal
elections are administered by state and local governments, although the
specifics of how elections are conducted differ between the states. The
Constitution and laws of the United States grant the states wide latitude in
how they administer elections.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/elections-and-voting
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