by Tyler Reny
In the United States, a country that takes great pride in its
democratic institutions, voting is widely referred to as a fundamental,
universal, even natural right for U.S. citizens--only superseded by the
“unalienable” right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Yet the bevy of demobilizing and disenfranchising voter-identification
laws passed by state legislatures in the last two years serve as an
important reminder that the franchise isn’t listed as a right in any of
our founding documents and, as history shows, was never considered one.
It is only through broad political movements and bloody struggles that
the franchise has been expanded to underrepresented citizens.
For
most of U.S. history, the government was not a government “of the
people, by the people, for the people,” but a government of, by, and for
the wealthy white male landowning elite.
Even before the American
Revolution, each colonial government adopted its own requirements to
vote. While these varied in specifics, most were based on
well-established British precedents that extended democratic rights to
white elites with land. Voting was not a right but a privilege conferred upon a chosen few. If it were a right, some feared, it would open up a Pandora’s box of voting rights for all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender--a nightmare some thought best avoided.
During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, a committee of state
delegates spent a hot summer week debating a uniform rule for suffrage.
In the end, the Founders tied the right to vote for U.S. representatives
to voting requirements in each state, a decision born both from
ideology and out of political expediency--as uniform requirements for
voting might sour the chances that the individual states would adopt the
new Constitution.
Despite the slow expansion of voter rolls
through the 18th and 19th centuries, it wasn’t until 1919 that universal
women’s suffrage would be guaranteed and protected by a constitutional
amendment. It wasn’t until the mid-1960s, after years of peaceful
marches and brutal violence, that the Civil Rights Act and the Voting
Rights Act would truly extend the franchise to all African-Americans. It
wasn’t until 1971 that the 26th Amendment would allow 18-year-olds to
vote.
Despite the hard-earned wins, state legislatures across the
country have been cracking down on the fallacious specter of voter fraud
with a volley of voter-identification laws that are expected to disproportionately suppress turnout of minority voters. One study finds that upwards of 10 million Latinos could be deterred from voting this year. Another illustrates the bills’ effects on young minority voters, driving down turnout in key swing states such as Pennsylvania and Florida, where even small numbers of voters can determine who sits in the Oval Office.
Given
the nation’s history with voting requirements, these draconian laws
aren’t surprising. They exist because the U.S. Constitution devolves
voting and registration requirements to the states, allowing a patchwork
of expansive and restrictive laws to determine who can easily vote and
who will face various hurdles on Election Day. As precedent has shown,
however, these barriers can be overcome.
Today, on National Voter Registration Day,
as nonprofits, civic-minded volunteers, and political campaigns around
the country work tirelessly to navigate state laws, register voters, and
ensure that turnout is high on Election Day, let’s call on Congress to
finally live up to the ideal and rhetoric of universal voting rights.
Let’s
call on Congress to draft and pass a national voting rights
constitutional amendment that renders moot onerous voter ID laws. Let’s
make sure that the diverse voices of immigrant and minority communities
that bring so much vitality to our democracy are strengthened not
silenced. Let’s make sure that all Americans have the right to vote.
Cross posted from The National Journal Next America: http://www.nationaljournal.com/thenextamerica/politics/opinion-how-the-u-s-is-still-struggling-with-universal-suffrage-20120925
No comments:
Post a Comment