In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law, a bill that would prohibit discrimination in voting. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 allowed for the enfranchisement of a massive amount of racial minorities, which was the main goal of the bill. After the bill was passed and signed into law, there was a sharp and consistent increase of registration of minority voters ranging from Hispanic Americans to African Americans for decades. In recent years there have been attempts to pass, what are now called, “Voter ID Laws”, which would require potential voters to provide some sort of state issued identification, and in some cases, photo identification in order to vote and cast their ballot. Proponents of the bill say its purpose is to prevent voter election fraud, while opponents of the bill say it is unnecessary and is used to prevent lower income voters (usually minority) from casting their ballots. Opponents of the bill also argue that these bills violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, specifically section 2. Section 2 states “No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color”. Opponents of the bill see the implementation of Voter ID laws as a direct violation of section 2, due to the large number of minorities who would not be able to vote, the ID law would serve as the prerequisite which would deny mainly racial minorities. So when examining the passage of Voter ID laws, with respect to the Voting Rights Act, do Voter ID laws violate section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by having a disproportionate effect on minority voters?
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...he number of Hispanic voters is anticipated to grow drastically in the coming years, and in Republican safety states like Texas that carries 38 electoral votes, it could very easily become a swing state. While the idea of preventing voter fraud is a noble one, it is not a big enough problem to propose new legislation that will prevent many eligible citizens from voting in elections. Voter ID laws appear to be disenfranchising many minority and eligible voters. To say that the sudden increase of Voter ID law legislation is politically motivated is not very hard to believe.
The Voting Rights Act was established to protect minorities from being discriminated against at the polls. It was signed into law to protect a person’s civil rights. In the following years and decades after its immediate implementation, the United States saw a significant increase in minority vote
The voter ID issue starts with certain laws that, in the US, require that a person show a form of official ID before they are allowed to register to vote. This issue has split both Republicans and Democrats. According to Kenneth Jost, “republicans say [voter-ID laws] are needed to prevent fraud and protect the integrity of elections. Democrats say the laws are not needed and are being pushed in order to reduce voting among groups that skew Democratic in elections especially Latinos and African Americans” (Jost, p. 171). Both of these perspectives are valid, and with an open mind, can both sides have important points about the validity and inclusion of elections. On one hand, it is crucial to prevent fraud and keep the elections free of error, otherwise the outcome could be an unfair ruling. On the other side of the argument, voter-ID laws can cause discrimination and prevent people from voting, also
Today, the citizens of the United States must push Congress to formulate an oversight measure to fix voter disenfranchisement. By itself, Supreme Court Ruling Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder does minimal damage to the voting process of the United States. The court ruled discriminatory practices of district actions half a century old unconstitutional, but left a responsibility for Congress to modernize the Voting Rights Act, to ensure that no district nor individual is discriminated against. Given the history of the United States’s voter suppression and the original need for the Voting Rights Act, a new, modern voter equality policy is of dire importance.
The new law has seen multiple, willing and able, voters turned away at the polling station for unacceptable or expired photo IDs. It also turns away people low on income, mainly because of the cost of photo IDs or the cost to replace vital documents, like birth certificates. With the implication of the new voter ID law, it is certain that it will have an implication on voter turnouts at the polls, mainly seen by minority and elderly voters. Those, like justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, prove that the new voter ID law has very lasting and unfair effects on voters who are deemed “unfavorable.” Even a U.S. district judge in Corpus Christi ruled that the law “constitutes an unconstitutional poll tax” and “has an impermissible discriminatory effect against Hispanics and African-Americans, and was imposed with an unconstitutional discriminatory purpose.” African-Americans and Latinos are more likely to lack appropriate photo IDs, disenfranchising approximately 600,000 voters. Even if the state offers a free photo ID, these types voters, some of who are in the low-income tax bracket, may not be able to get their hands on necessary documents, such as a birth certificate which cost around $23, to obtain one. The new ID laws can prove to be a large hurdle for multiple types of people, causing a lot of stress to people who just want to perform their civic
Through this legislation, minorities, especially African Americans, were able to vote freely. Racial discrimination diminished away as the decades passed by. But racial discrimination did not fully disappear. In the Supreme Court case Shelby v. Holder (2013), Section IV(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been deemed unconstitutional because it is “based on 40 year-old facts” (Lecture September 29). Since the ruling, Supreme Court cases, such as Evenwel v. Abbott (2015-2016) and North Carolina N.A.A.C.P. v. McCrory (2013-2014), has been stirring up causing a change on voting in America.
The 19th amendment states that the United States Constitution prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. The 19th amendment was a significant turning point for many women in America. It gave women freedom that they didn’t have before. Before this amendment was passed many women had no self portrayal, something they couldn’t reach with a male figure ruling next to them. That was until 1920 when the 19th amendment was passed. The amendment let women into power giving them social justice and many political rights.
Voter ID laws in the United States have begun to create controversy since the beginning of its adaptations in the early 2000’s. Voter ID laws in the United States is a law that requires U.S. citizens to have a special form of identification in order to vote in an election. The idea with Voter ID laws is that the state must make sure that the laws do not pose any sort of burden on the voters. These laws have been proposed in order to stop voting fraud. However, the institution of Voter ID laws has caused trouble in states, including Texas, regarding the various amount of identification requirements needed.
John Adams once said "You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." For many generations, our ancestors have fought for the right to vote. It started with the Civil Rights Act in 1964 which made it mandatory that white schools integrate black children into their institutions. The outcome of the 1964 election was a landslide, favoring the democrats, which broached the issue of civil rights legislation. In 1964 “only 7% of eligible black citizens in Mississippi were registered; in Alabama the figure was 20% (Kernell, et. al 2014, 162). The low voter turnout rate was because people of color were required to take a literacy test. This all changed when President Johnson
Voting is one of the citizens’ rights living in a country. In the past, not everyone can vote. Voting used to be for only white American men. However, our ancestors fought for that rights. Eventually, any American who are older than eighteen can vote, despite their race or gender. In addition, voter turnout is used to keep track of the voting. It is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. Unfortunately, the voter turnout has been decreasing over time, and it means that there are less and fewer people who actually show up and vote. This essay will discuss the voter turnout in Harris County, Texas.
"After 1815 Americans transformed the republic of the Founding Fathers into a democracy. State after state revoked property qualifications for voting and holding officethus transforming Jefferson's republic of property holders into Andrew Jackson's mass democracy. Democracy, however, was not for everyone. While states extended political rights to all white men, they often withdrew or limited such rights for blacks. As part of the same trend, the state of New Jersey took the vote away from propertied women, who formerly had possessed that right. Thus the democratization of citizenship applied exclusively to white men. In the mid19th century, these men went to the polls in record numbers. The election of 1828 attracted 1.2 million voters; that number jumped to 1.5 million in 1836 and to 2.4 million in 1840. Turnout of eligible voters by 1840 was well over 60 percenthigher than it had ever been, and much higher than it is now." (Remini, 1998)
Presenting a photo ID before casting your vote eliminates the worries of non-Us citizens vote overcoming yours, while also decreasing multiple votes from the same person. In Texas alone since 2004 there have been sixty-six cases of voter Freud. The Voters ID Laws were passed to protect the voters rights not to abolish them. By protecting each voter’s rights enables them a greater opportunity to have their voice heard. Showing proper voters ID will restrict the number of illegal voters from casting a vote they do not have a right to. It will also prevent legal citizens from voting as if a deceased member of their family to increase their candidate in the election. Providing proper photo identification will reduce voter Freud, multiple votes, and protect voter’s
There have been several occasions throughout America’s history where voter fraud has changed the outcome of an election. For example, “a 2010 Kansas election ended with a one vote margin where 50 of the winning side votes were cast illegally by citizens of Somalia (Hans Von Spankovsky).” Another example is when “a 1996 congressional race in California was almost overturned by hundreds of votes cast illegally by noncitizens (Hans Von Spankovsky).” Voter ID laws are a sensible precaution to voting. Voter id laws eliminate all forms of voter fraud and restore integrity to elections, Government issued photo ids are inexpensive and easy to obtain, and voter id laws don’t restrict the right to vote and restore confidence to voters.
IDs as a valid form of identification, nor can out of state students vote without a valid
“It is an indispensable intrusion by the federal government into an area where it has no constitutional right”(George Neu) It was a big tension between federal government and state government. But some of them blamed it as a controversy at that time because most of the federal government head supported that. “Virginia senator Henry Byrd, an opponent of the 1965 voting rights act, claimed Lyndon Johnson would only increase racial tensions by “inflaming so-called civil rights issues” if he pursued the legislation.” (Finley) By Refusing all kinds of argument against voting rights the congress had passed the voting rights act to give African American exact equal rights.”The voting rights bill was passed in the U.S. senate by a 77-19 vote on may 26, 1965. After debating the bill for more than a month, the U.S. house of representatives passed the voting rights Act into law on August 6, with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders present at the ceremony.”(history.com) a major part the congress voted for the voting rights act in order to “This great, rich, restless country can often opportunity and education and hope to an….black and white, North and South, Sharecropper and city dweller. These are the enemies….poverty and ignorance….and not our fellow men...And these two should be
Exercising the right to vote is the foundation of American democracy. However, state disfranchisement laws have prevented a significant number of Americans from voting, especially those with criminal records. The deprivation of voting rights for incarcerated individuals is not inherently for punishing offenders. This deprivation does not also promote the reintegration of criminal offenders into the lawful society. Individuals defending these laws frequently cite the loss of the voting rights as a necessary move for the prevention of voter fraud. In some cases, supporters of these laws claim that depriving incarcerated individuals of voting rights assists in preserving the “purity of the ballot box” (ACLU, 2005). For this reason, ensuring the realization of this purity necessitates the exclusion of the incarcerated individuals since they are seemingly not virtuous.
Whenever you give a legal immigrant the right to vote it eliminates a key characteristic of being an American citizen. In a matter of fact, legal immigrants obtain their green cards for ten years. What gives them the right to make decisions in our state if they are only part of it for such a short time period? I do not believe people should be granted the opportunity to vote federally, nationally,