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The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201415th Amendment<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Representative John Lewis encouraged his constituents to vote. His message, however, is appropriate for all U.S. citizens. When citizens vote, democracy is protected, is more representative and, therefore, is more alive. Public schools teach students the characteristics of good citizenship: civility and respect, trustworthiness and fairness, cooperation, and voicing opinions in positive ways. Good citizenship requires individuals to become informed, active voters. This is not just a fundamental right but a civic responsibility.<\/p>\n

Who can vote in our country? Well, it is a long story:<\/p>\n

\n
• In 1789, when George Washington was elected, only white, male property owners over the age of 21 could vote.<\/li>\n
• After 1870, when the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution was enacted, all men regardless of race could vote\u2014but voting wasn\u2019t guaranteed. Poll Taxes, literacy taxes, white primary systems, and intimidation suppressed the Black vote.<\/li>\n
• In 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote\u2014but once again Black women were denied the same opportunities because of poll taxes, literacy taxes, white primary systems, and intimidation practices.<\/li>\n
• In 1964, the 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes that discouraged poor people from voting.<\/li>\n
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ensured that literacy tests and complicated voting procedures and instructions were illegal. No citizen could be denied the right to vote.<\/li>\n
• In 1971, the age requirement for voting changed from 21 to 18.<\/li>\n
• In 1975, Congress expanded the Voting Rights Act to protect the rights of citizens who do not speak or read English.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  Unfortunately, although the right to vote should be a fundamental right and a civic responsibility, the history of voting in the United States has been a struggle. That is true even today. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, \u201csince the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, there has been a blatant effort to deny voting rights through state actions\u2026purging voter rolls, blocking rights restoration efforts, eliminating polling places, scaling back early voting, instituting onerous voter ID laws, and limiting access to voting by mail.\u201d<\/p>\n

  Are you eligible to vote? Do you vote? Will you vote? As John Lewis said: \u201cYour vote matters.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. \u201415th Amendment Representative John Lewis encouraged his constituents to vote. His message, however, is appropriate for all U.S. citizens. When citizens […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"zakra_sidebar_layout":"customizer","zakra_remove_content_margin":false,"zakra_sidebar":"customizer","zakra_transparent_header":"customizer","zakra_logo":0,"zakra_main_header_style":"default","zakra_menu_item_color":"#16181a","zakra_menu_item_hover_color":"#027abb","zakra_menu_item_active_color":"#027abb","zakra_menu_active_style":"zakra_menu_active_style","zakra_page_header":true,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,36],"tags":[38,37,39],"class_list":["post-1500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-voting","tag-15th-amendment","tag-john-lewis","tag-voting-rights-act"],"yoast_head":"\n