voting rights Essay

Submitted By wings101
Words: 1237
Pages: 5
Open Document
Grade 100
See comments below

Loita Deal
U03a1
Voting Rights and Participation
Professor Neil Kraus
POL 1000

Voting Rights and Participation The right to vote in the United States was a huge movement when it came to Women and African Americans. By the year 1965, progress with the movement had been made, but in the south it was a different story altogether. Marches went on as far south as Alabama, which did get the attention of the federal government. With the passing of this Act (Voting Rights Act) in 1965, history was made in the United States that allowed the government to step in and outlaw discriminatory voting practices to women and African Americans. This Act was for the widespread prevention of the African Americans to vote. Even women had their own issues with being allowed to vote. The voting Act also ensured that any United States citizen who reach the age of 18 years old would not be denied the right to vote, regardless of their race, their religious beliefs, disabilities, or sexual preferences (Patterson, 2013). There was still a continual struggle for equality among the African American people. This is why the Voting Rights Act and Martin Luther King Jr. set the stage for all African Americans to be treated equal. This type of equality allows more and more people go to the polls and vote for what they believe in, which in turn helps out voter participation and allows for everyone’s voice to be heard. The challenges that are faced today regarding the Voting Rights Act has to do with civil rights activists. They have struggled for a very long time to have the Federal Government take some kind of action to ensure that African Americans had equal rights to be able to exercise their right to vote. There have been more complications that many people feel threatened regarding the successes of the civil rights movement that is becoming known as a thing of the past. There are many states that have new restrictions regarding voter fraud. These new restrictions that were adopted actually threaten the voting rights of African Americans and Latinos, as well as young voters (18 years, the age of voting was lowered in the late 60”s, during the time of the Vietnam War) and the low-income group of people. Voter turnout was markedly increase with the passing of the Voting Rights Act, even though discrimination is still active in the polls, even today. But, in the past few years the turnout has drops a few points, but they are likely to increase in the future, since it is easier to register to vote today than it has been in the past. Usually with the Presidential elections there is a slight increase, but in the off years, the voting seems to drop off somewhat. The case of Shelby County vs Holder, is a case of the U. S. Supreme Court regarding two of the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, section 5 and section 4(b) which found that it was illegal for a state to refuse a person to vote because of race, color, or membership in a minority group to vote (Dunkley (2013). Women have made substantial progress regarding voting. The women’s suffrage movement began during the reconstruction era. Susan B. Anthony drafted the Nineteenth Amendment guaranteeing all American Women the right to vote. Since that time women had excelled in many areas in elective offices. Women are now Supreme Court Judges, Senators and Representatives, and are working their way to the Presidential seat of the White House. More women work a job now than even before and have not been able to achieve job equality yet. Voter participation has become a very hot topic where voters are concerned. You can now choose to vote in person, by mail or even online. The votes are always counted no matter which way a voter chooses to use. The voting process has become so much more voter friendly to allow the elderly and the disabled more chances to vote in the world today.
Show More

Related Documents: voting rights Essay

The Consequences Of Voting Rights

oversee voting practices in some state to prevent violations of minority voting rights. Subtle changes to voting procedures do continue to threaten minority voting rights. The government was wrong to void Section 4 of the voting rights. The Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, the provision of the landmark civil rights law that designates which parts of the country must have changes to their voting laws cleared by the federal government or in federal court. The Voting Rights…

Words 614 - Pages 3

Voting Rights Dbq

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a major law in the United States that was made to stop unfair practices that kept African Americans from voting. Before this law came around, a lot of tricky rules like literacy tests and poll taxes were used mainly in the South to stop Black people from voting, even though they had the right to do so according to the Constitution. This law was a big deal because it tackled these unfair practices head-on. It had special rules, like one called "preclearance." This…

Words 2104 - Pages 9

Voting Rights In America

Voting rights are being removed by most people in the U.S. by a large percentage, in this essay, we will talk about the reasons for citizens not being allowed to vote and how much it impacts the U.S. overall. Voting rights, America has butchered these since day one, and hasn't been working on applying the laws made, people with mental illnesses or disabilities are unable to vote due to the “Lack of competence” which is not a legal reason to revoke their right to vote, any U.S citizen can vote unless…

Words 272 - Pages 2

The Voting Rights Act

What are voting rights? Voting rights are rights of the people in public elections; an entitlement for any person to vote. In the 18 and 19 hundred, it was particularly hard for African Americans, who were the minority, to vote or have their voices heard. In 1965, that all changed for the better. One of the most historic bills to pass in Congress, was the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The law was passed during the Civil Rights Movement.…

Words 174 - Pages 1

Voting Rights Act Dbq

The Voting Rights Act was crucial for taking away racial discrimination in voting, which impacted the U.S. by creating equal rights for all citizens. The voting act was necessary because it overcame the barriers that prevented the African Americans from having their right to vote. In the voting rights act, there were barriers that got eliminated. African Americans faced challenges in voting, like the literacy tests. In literacy tests there was violence and they would threaten the African Americans…

Words 195 - Pages 1

Voting Rights Act Of 1965

The voting rights act of 1965, signed into law by Lyndon Johnson on August 6th, had nineteen sections. The primary purpose of the act was to eliminate discriminatory procedures used by some states in voting practices which had the effect of violating the 15th amendment, preventing African-American the right to vote. The act gave the right to the attorney general to appoint federal examiners who could monitor elections for discriminatory practices. The act generally prohibited the use of poll taxes…

Words 129 - Pages 1

Voting Rights Act Of 1964

What was the Voting Rights Act of 1964? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. organized a peaceful march to the state capital in Montgomery, Alabama when police attacked them with tear gas and whipped them for protesting. After the event in Montgomery, Alabama President Lyndon B. Johnson decided to give voting rights protection to African Americans. The 14th and 15th amendments gave African Americans freedom, congress still found ways to prevent African Americans from voting. Jim Crow laws were put into place…

Words 130 - Pages 1

Voting: African American and Voting Rights Acts Essay

Why Voting Is Important LBJ said, "I know that advancing this legislation, voting rights and civil rights, is going to lose my party the South for two decades." And he turned out to be right, but it was the right thing to do at that time. Without the push of Dr. Martin Luther King, President LBJ wouldn’t have had the courage or the indictment to change the course of history. We now have the right to vote. There has always been something bitter sweet about the life of the African American. From…

Words 410 - Pages 2

Voting Rights Act Of 1965 Essay

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 shuffled many African American people´s lives that will always be remembered. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was presented into law by the current president at that time, President Lyndon Johnson. The purpose of the Act was to climb over legal walls that blocked freedom for African Americans and that prevented them from having their freedom to vote. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 played a huge part in the African American people’s lives that will forever be apart of African…

Words 863 - Pages 4

The Civil Rights Movement And The Voting Rights Act Of 1964

The Civil Rights Movement has roots in the 19th century, but is most well known for the leaders of and events that took place in the 1950s and 1960s. The Civil Rights Movement was a fight for social justice and equality under the law for African Americans after the official abolition of slavery in 1865 failed to end the discrimination against blacks. Even after African Americans became free citizens of the United States, they still faced rampant racism, violence, segregation, false imprisonment,…

Words 1581 - Pages 7