Content Categorized with "Right to Vote Amendment"
1 - 10 of 36 results
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Right to Vote Advocates Give Testimonies to US Senate Judiciary Committee
- Posted: September 8, 2011
- Author(s): Right to Vote Blog, Christina Grier
- Categories: Home, Right to Vote Amendment
On September 8, 2011, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on state voting laws, in particular, laws that could be seen as suppressing voter turnout. Advocates spoke about why a right to vote is so necessary, and not simply amendments that prevent voters from discrimination.
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The Next Generation of Reformers: Reasons for Young People to Get Involved in the Electoral Reform Movement
- Posted: August 24, 2011
- Author(s): Dorothy Scheeline
- Categories: Instant Runoff Voting, Home, National Popular Vote, Learning Democracy, Right to Vote Amendment, Universal Voter Registration
A lot of the people advocating for structural changes do so because we have problems with the established political culture. The group of people that is 18-29 right now has a lot of reasons to want deep systemic change soon. Because of this, I think that over the next decade we will see groups that are focused on young people intensify their advocacy efforts for election reform issues.
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Evolution of voting rights from 1789 to today must continue
- Posted: August 14, 2011
- Author(s): Right to Vote Blog, Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Home, Right to Vote Amendment
Often we sanctify the Founding Fathers and the Constitution that is the bedrock of our republic. But when it comes to voting rights, most of the founders were far off the mark from how we see the right to vote today. Consider the realities of the election of 1789, the first election of the new Congress. The overall number of people who were allowed to, and actually voted, was miniscule in state after state.
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Voting Rights Constitutional Amendment Gathers Steam
- Posted: July 22, 2011
- Author(s): Right to Vote Blog, Rob Richie, Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Home, Right to Vote Amendment, FairVote
Nothing is more fundamental to democracy that a fully protected right to vote. That’s why it belongs in the U.S. Constitution.
That's why we so pleased to share good news. Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. has introduced HJR 28, the Right to Vote amendment. If you want to support HJR 28, you can take action today. Without such a right specifically enumerated in our Constitution, our fundamental voting rights are at risk.
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Rossello v. United States and the Right to Vote for Puerto Rico
- Posted: July 5, 2011
- Author(s): Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Home, Right to Vote Amendment, Universal Voter Registration, FairVote
Brought in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights by former governor of Puerto Rico Pedro Rossello, Rossello v. United States addresses the lack of a right to cast a ballot and have such ballots counted in national elections for president and Congress by residents of Puerto Rico. Petitioner Rossello has been disenfranchised, along with all other residents of Puerto Rico, despite his American citizenship, based solely on his area of residence within the United States. The case raises larger issues about voting rights for Americans who live in American "colonies" that are not states. -
What if the Right to Vote Started at Birth?
- Posted: June 17, 2011
- Author(s): Nate Crippes
- Categories: Home, Right to Vote Amendment
Journalist Jonathan Bernstein has raised an interesting question: at what age should we be allowed to begin voting? More specifically, should citizens be given the right to vote at birth, with our parents voting for us before we're capable (Bernstein suggests the ripe old age of 15 for voting on one's own)? It's certainly an interesting theory. FairVote is not endorsing such a position, but we do think it would be interesting to look at both sides of the issue, grounded in the fact that if we treat voting as a right, we should only limit rights for very good reasons.
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The Right to Vote Blog: Put more money into politics?
- Posted: June 1, 2011
- Author(s): Right to Vote Blog, Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Home, Right to Vote Amendment, FairVote
“Let’s put more money into politics!” is a rallying cry that won’t win over too many supporters.
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RTV: Money doesn’t grow on trees
- Posted: May 4, 2011
- Author(s): Right to Vote Blog, Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Home, Right to Vote Amendment
Recently, several states have backed policies that likely will disenfranchise large numbers of their citizens in the name of reducing the deficit and becoming more efficient; policies involving filling vacancies, and maintaining voter rolls.
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Voting: A Right, A Privilege, or A Responsibility?
- Posted: April 20, 2011
- Author(s): Right to Vote Blog, Dean Searcy
- Categories: Home, Right to Vote Amendment, FairVote
When Americans talk about their democracy, they typically emphasize the importance of the right to vote. But the fact is that, unlike other democratic rights protected in the First Amendment, voting rights do not have clear constitutional protections. State legislatures have the right to appoint electors in presidential races without holding elections, for example, and states can enact a variety of policies that directly or indirectly infringe on suffrage rights. While strengthening voting rights in the Constitution would seem like a logical step, there's a potential political barrier: confusion about the meaning of "right."
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The Right to Vote: The case of the people of our nation’s capital
- Posted: April 14, 2011
- Author(s): Right to Vote Blog, Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Home, D.C. Voting Rights, Right to Vote Amendment, FairVote
Although the District has a delegate in the U.S. House (Eleanor Holmes Norton) who can propose legislation and serve on committee, she does not have voting rights in Congress. The District lacks even a delegate in the U.S. Senate, even though Congress can veto any bill passed by the District and often considers “riders’ on bills that would change laws governing the residents of the District – a classic case of “taxation without representation.”