Magruder’s American Government
1st Edition
ISBN: 9780133306996
Textbook solutions
All Solutions
Section 10-2: Your Right to Vote
Exercise 1
Solution 1
Solution 2
Step 1
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**Registration** is part of the voting procedure and refers to the requirement for voters to register before voting in order to verify their identity and prevent fraud during the voting itself.
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There are different opinions on whether this procedure is useful or harmful. Those who support it believe it is necessary to prevent fraud in such an important process. They strive to make it as simple and accessible as possible to people.
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On the other hand, opponents of registration believe that it negatively affects the electoral process because it discourages going to the polls in poorer and less educated environments where this procedure may be inaccessible or insufficiently clear. They state that the United States is the only country that requires the act of registration from its citizens, while in other democratic countries, governments take on that obligation.
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**Registration** is when citizens legally register for voting. It is used to confirm identity and prevent fraud.
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The **positive side** is that it assures the votes are coming from real people. It also provides governmental officials a list of people eligible to vote. Thus it provides transparency into the voting process. Once the voter registers, he is set and doesn’t have to repeat the process unless he moves somewhere else, commits a serious crime, or dies.
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**Some people think registration should be abolished**. Mainly because they perceive qualifications as a set bar for an action that everyone has the right for – this refers to the citizens that happen to be of a lower social class and usually of poor education. Furthermore, some argue that registration should be automatically done from the government’s side.
Exercise 2
Solution 1
Solution 2
Step 1
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Poll taxes were taxes implied on every adult individual, regardless of their income and the resources they own. They were used as a precondition to vote – payments on taxes provided eligibility to vote.
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The idea for people owning property to vote was to balance out the society in a political way and motivate people to have responsibilities and work. However, minorities and poor people have suffered and missed out on participation simply because they couldn’t afford to own a property.
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The court noted this and, under the **Equal Protection Clause**, prohibited poll taxes. There was no reasonable relationship between voting and paying taxes.
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Possession of property and payment of taxes on it was a frequent condition for exercising the right to vote. It was called **poll tax.**
Step 2
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This condition was introduced because it was considered that only the wealthy had the right to decide. It was considered that this layer was more interested in political events because they could greatly affect the economic system and business.
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Furthermore, the goal of this condition was preventing citizens from the lower layers of society from taking part in political life. Minorities were particularly affected, such as African Americans, who at one time were actually barred from buying property.
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Poll tax was prohibited by the provisions of the 24th Amendment, which was ratified in 1964.
Result
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Exercise 3
Solution 1
Solution 2
Step 1
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Until the adoption of the 26th Amendment in 1971, in most States the lower voting age was 21. The 26th Amendment established that in all States the minimum voting limit must be 18 years.
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This change came about as a result of the wars in which the United States participated. Namely, many recruits were 18 years old, so the opinion developed that they should also be given the right to vote. This is expressed in the phrase **”Old enough to fight, old enough to vote.”**
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This amendment was ratified in a very short period of time because it was passed during the Vietnam War, in which many young soldiers took part.
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The **26th Amendment** states:“The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.”
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The **crucial argument** for the 26th Amendment justified the adult status of an 18-year-old. The Amendment was enacted after and during the wars, where there were a lot of 18-year-old individuals participating.
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Therefore, it was concluded that if they were old enough to participate in war, they should have the right to vote.
Exercise 4
Solution 1
Solution 2
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**Most States, for at least a period of time, automatically disqualify individuals who committed a serious crime from voting**. It is done as a consequence of their action.
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The voting process is, in simple terms, participation in the creation of the government. Why should individuals who committed a serious crime in their society have a right to participate in government matters? This is probably the logic behind this political question.
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Furthermore, if individuals cared to do better as citizens and then participate with a full right, they would not have probably committed a serious crime. Either way, it is a form of reasonable sacrifice that criminals have to give up as a consequence.
Result
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Many States have deprived the right to vote for those convicted of serious crimes. It was considered that their imprisonment deprived them of the legal right to participate in the election process because, among other things, they were denied political rights. At present, most prisoners are allowed to retain the right to vote.
Exercise 5
Solution 1
Solution 2
Step 1
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The **grandfather clause** means that any man who voted before the 15th Amendment can attain a legal right to vote, regardless of their literacy or the payment of taxes. Before, a literacy test was required to vote legally. It was initially created to allow unintentionally disqualified individuals to attain a legal right to vote due to a lack of tax payments and literacy.
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**Literacy** request was introduced to deprive minorities of voting. However, the white population wasn’t passing the literacy test either. The States decided to take care of its people by ensuring they were allowed the right to vote.
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This can be looked at as something positive because States valued and ensured its citizens participated in the voting. On the other side, the States didn’t want the African Americans to have a legal right to vote, which is discrimination and inequality at its finest.
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**Literacy** was introduced as a requirement to enable citizens to vote in some States. Citizens could exercise their right to vote if they came to know how to read, write or understand a passage of the Constitution.
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This request was introduced in order to prevent the voting of members of minorities, and it was mostly aimed at preventing the voting of African Americans. In that time, members of these layers of society did not have the same opportunity for education as the majority white population, and generally failed to pass the literacy test.
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However, it happened that some members of the white population did not pass the literacy test and did not exercise their right to vote. To overcome this situation, several States have introduced **grandfather clauses** under which all men and their male heirs have the right to vote regardless of other requirements (literacy, tax payment) if they voted before the adoption of the 15th Amendment in 1870.
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