You are here

Home » Past » Timelines » Federal, State and Case Laws Relevant to Voting Rights

You are here

Home » Past » Timelines » Federal, State and Case Laws Relevant to Voting Rights

Laws and Amendments

1787-1788

The Constitution of the United States of America

Adopted in 1787 and ratified in 1788, the Constitution makes no central policy on voting rights. It leaves the decision to individual states.

Constitutional references to American Indians and voting rights

American Indians were the only racial/ethnic group mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. Their inclusion in the Constitution recognized their sovereignty yet did not guarantee citizenship or voting rights.

For example, Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 states that “Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States…excluding Indians not taxed” and Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 states that “The Congress shall have Power To…regulate Commerce…with the Indian Tribes…”.

The interpretation of these clauses would serve as the backdrop to court cases in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as American Indians worked to affirm their rights as citizens and voters. 

The Three-Fifths Compromise

The Three-fifths Compromise was a plan offered by James Madison to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to determine a state’s representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The issue of how to count slaves split the delegates into two groups. The Northerners regarded slaves as property who should receive no representation. Southerners demanded that Blacks be counted with whites. Under this compromise, slaves were counted as three-fifths of a human being for the purpose of taxation and representation in Congress.  

1791

The Bill of Rights

To address concerns about limiting the powers of the federal government, the First Congress of the United States proposed adding 12 amendments to the Constitution. Of these 12 amendments, 10 were ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures and these 10 amendments now constitute the Bill of Rights of the Constitution. The Bill of Rights spells out individual citizens' rights, including freedom of speech and religion, as well as protections from searches and seizures. 

The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

The amendment reads:
 

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.”
 

The Tenth Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights to further define the balance of power between the federal government and the states. The amendment says that the federal government has only those powers specifically granted by the Constitution. These powers include the power to declare war, to collect taxes, to regulate interstate business activities and others that are listed in the articles. In Shelby County v. Holder (2013) and earlier decisions, the US Supreme Court said that under the Tenth Amendment the states retain the power to regulate their elections. For instance, states may decide how their elected officials will be chosen, and what the qualifications are for being a state elected official. 

1838

1838 Reform Convention in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania rewrote the state Constitution to exclude African American voters. They changed the provision for “freemen” to “enjoy the rights of an elector” to “white freemen.”

1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (gwah-dah-loop-ay ee-dahl-go) brought an official end to the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) on February 2, 1848. It was signed at Guadalupe Hidalgo, a city that had become a makeshift capitol for the Mexican government after the advancement of U.S. forces caused government officials to flee the original capitol.

1862

Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation, made by President Lincoln on September 22, 1862, granted freedom to the slaves in the Confederate States. The proclamation would only be applicable if the Confederate States did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863. Due to the Confederate States refusal to rejoin the Union and dismissal of all Union law, freedom would only come to the slaves if the Union won the war.

1865

Continued black resistance after the civil war

Freemen throughout the South call for the vote. In New Orleans, the Black community holds a mock election to demonstrate their participation in the electoral process. In the same year, Andrew Tait and 58 other African Americans in Tennessee petition a convention of pro-Union whites to abolish slavery, allow Blacks to testify in court and give Blacks citizenship and the right to vote.

Slavery Abolished nationwide

The 13th Amendment, passed by Congress in February, abolishes legal slavery in the United States. It is ratified approved by the states in December.

1866

The Civil RIghts Act of 1866

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 granted citizenship and the same rights enjoyed by white citizens to all male persons in the United States "without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude."

1867

The First Reconstruction Act of 1867

The First Reconstruction Act established military rule over southern states until new governments could be formed after the Civil War.

The First Reconstruction Act, also known as the Military Reconstruction Act, became law on March 2, 1867 over the veto of President Andrew Johnson.

The Act applied to all the ex-Confederate States in the South, except Tennessee who had already ratified the 14th Amendment. It split the states into five military districts, each under the control of a northern military officers.

The First Reconstruction Act also required rebel states to ratify new state constitutions that reflected the ratification of the 14th amendment, and the provisions of equal rights for each citizen.

The most radical aspect of the Act was the enfranchisement of all citizens, except ex-Confederates, and so set the stage for the passage of the 15th Amendment.

1868

14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The 14th Amendment added rights granted by the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to the Constitution.

This amendment said states could not deny equal protection under the law to any citizen. The 14th amendment states “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” This constitutional amendment expanded voting rights for African American men.

However this did not include American Indians. Several court cases were pursued seeking citizenship. However it wasn’t until 1940 when full citizenship rights were extended to American Indians.

In 1887 Congress passed The Dawes Act which allowed Indians to become citizens if they left their tribes and assimilated  The process by which an individual’s or group’s language and culture come to resemble another group, often a more dominant or colonizing group into a civilized life. A “civilized life” was generally assumed to mean that the individual spoke English, had become Christian, and was actively involved with farming.

In both 1924 and 1940, Congress passed legislation which granted citizenship to all American Indians.

 

1870

15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The 15th Amendment gave African American male citizens, whether or not they had been slaves, the right to vote. It stated that 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."

1870 Enforcement Act

This act made it a federal crime to interfere with voting, and provided for prosecuting these cases in federal courts rather than biased state and local courts.

 

1871

The Ku Klux Klan Act

The Ku Klux Klan Act gave the federal government the authority to use the army to defend the voting rights rights of African Americans. With federal enforcement, violence against African Americans fell in 1872, but began to rise again later in the 1870s.

1875

U.S. v. Reese

The Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Reese in 1875 allowed states to create legal barriers to voting that applied to all voters, but mainly caused difficulties for poor and Black voters, or could be applied in a discriminatory fashion. These court rulings effectively moved the power to create and administer voting laws back to the states.

The ruling threw out key Enforcement Act provisions for federal prosecution of local officials who practiced election fraud. Election fraud was still illegal, but state and local governments in the South seldom pursued cases of fraud concerning African American votes.

1876

U.S. v. Cruikshank

The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. v. Cruikshank in 1876 stated that the 14th Amendment applied only to state action, not to individual action. This required disenfranchised voters to seek remedies in state courts under state laws, not in federal court. This ruling made it difficult to prosecute cases of violence against African American voters on the federal level. The decision stated that the “right to participate in state politics was derived from the states,” and that the federal government would not get involved. As in the case of election fraud, many state and local officials in the South did not enforce laws protecting African Americans from violence and intimidation.

1877

Hayes-Tilden Compromise

The Hayes-Tilden Compromise ended Reconstruction and removed federal troops from the Confederate states in 1877. This meant Black voters had to depend on states and the local police for support, which was seldom given, and exposed African American voters to potential violence.

When the 1876 presidential election ended with a dispute over electoral votes, the Republicans made a deal with the southern Democrats. Southerners agreed to support Republican Rutherford B. Hayes for president.

In return, the Republicans promised to withdraw troops from the South, end Reconstruction, and stop trying to enforce African American rights, including the right to vote.

1882

Chinese Exclusion Act

The Chinese Exclusion Act was approved on May 6, 1882. It was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States.

This Act created a 10-year ban on Chinese labor immigration. For the first time, federal law limited entry of an ethnic working group on the grounds that it endangered the common good. Congress did not allow state and federal courts the right to grant citizenship to Chinese resident undocumented immigrants, although the courts could still deport them.

The Act was later extended in the form of the Geary Act. Though it was repealed in 1943, Congress still set a yearly limit on Chinese immigrants.

1884

Elk v. Wilkins

1884 Supreme Court case Elk v. Wilkins. John Elk, a Winnebago Indian, sought to register to vote in 1880 but was denied.

When the case reached the Supreme Court, it ruled that Elk was not “subject to the jurisdiction of the United States at birth” despite the fact that Elk lived off-reservation and had assimilated into white culture. During this time period American Indians were widely believed to be an inferior race and were therefore not entitled to citizenship, a view held well into the twentieth century.

1887

The Dawes Act

In 1887 the Dawes Act broke up collectively-held Indian land and provided allotments to individual Indians. As a continuation of the process of assimilation, the Dawes Act allowed an avenue to citizenship for Indian people who accepted allotment and disassociated themselves from “traditional” tribal life.

1896

Plessy v. Ferguson

The first law requiring “equal but separate accommodations for the white, and colored, races,” was passed by the Florida legislature in 1887. When Louisiana passed a similar law in 1890, African Americans in New Orleans planned a way to challenge the law’s constitutionality. In 1892, they had Homer Adolph Plessy sit on a train car designated for white passengers, anticipating his subsequent arrest. In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case, Plessy v. Ferguson. The court ruled that so long as the separate facilities were equal, the segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment’s equal protection guarantee. The Plessy ruling justified segregation in transportation, public accommodations and schools.

1897

Case of In Re Ricardo Rodriguez

In 1896, Texas resident Ricardo Rodriguez was denied his citizenship application when the Board of Naturalization suggested that he had “indigenous traits” (physical features common among American Indians), which they argued made him unsuitable for citizenship because American Indians did not have citizenship rights.

 

Rodriguez eventually won and was granted citizenship when the judge concluded that he was not, in fact, American Indian, and that he had “practically illustrated and emphasized his attachment to the principles of the constitution.” The case set a precedent for Mexican Americans; their “white” status gave them citizenship rights that were not extended to American Indians, Chinese, Japanese, and others.

1901

The Insular Cases

A series of Supreme Court decisions that outlined the status of a number of territories obtained during the Spanish-American War. The Court ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not necessarily fully apply to all residents of U.S. controlled territory. Places such as Puerto Rico and Guam were treated as “unincorporated” and therefore full citizenship rights did not extend to the territories. These decisions remain law today, although there are some efforts to revisit the legal status of territories.

 

1906

The Burke Act

The 1906 Burke Act amended the Dawes Act and required the federal government to set or determine the “competence” or capability of individual Indians before granting them title of their allotted land. This also served as a way for the federal government to prevent American Indian citizenship and its accompanying rights as the act also required a “probationary” period of 25 years before citizenship would be granted.

1915

Guinn v. United States

In Guinn v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the “grandfather clause” enacted by the Oklahoma State Legislature was unconstitutional because it violated the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution by using literacy tests aimed at taking away the Black vote. “Grandfather clauses” enacted by southern states in the post-Reconstruction Era were implicitly designed to discriminate against potential Black voters despite the clauses not directly mentioning race. In 1911, the United States convicted Frank Guinn and J.J. Beal, two Oklahoma election officers charged in federal court with violating federal election law by denying Blacks the right to vote under the provisions of the grandfather clause. Guinn and Beal appealed their convictions, but they were upheld by the United States Supreme Court. U.S. government attorneys argued the validity of the “grandfather clause” itself, conceding that literacy tests were acceptable if written to be racially neutral, which Oklahoma's were not. The Court recognized the States’ rights to determine terms of qualifications to vote as long as they did not violate the federal Constitution or legislation to enforce them, as Oklahoma did. The case was in principle a victory for African American voting rights, as Guinn did not immediately enfranchise southern Blacks.

1917

Opsahl v. Johnson

In 1917 the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in Opsahl v. Johnson that American Indians did not have the right to vote because they lived on reservations and were not considered part of the “civilized” population. Indians were only considered “civilized” if they were living off-reservation and were assimilated.

Jones-Shafroth Act

On March 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act. This law granted Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship.

The Jones Act separated the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches of Puerto Rican government, provided civil rights for the individual, and began a locally elected bicameral legislature. The two houses included a Senate comprised of 19 members and a 39-member House of Representatives.

Additionally, the Governor and the President of the United States had veto power over any law passed by the legislature. Also, the United States Congress had the power to stop any action taken by the legislature in Puerto Rico.

The U.S. maintained control over fiscal and economic matters and exercised authority over mail services, immigration, defense and other basic governmental matters.

1919

The 1919 American Indian Citizenship Act

In 1919, Congress passed an act that granted citizenship to the 7,000 American Indians who served in the armed forces during WWI and received an honorable discharge. The Act did not grant automatic citizenship to these American Indians. It authorized them to apply for and be granted citizenship.

1920

19th Amendment to the US Constitution: Women's Right to Vote

On June 4, 1919, Congress passed the 19th amendment and ratified it on August 18, 1920. “The 19th Amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote.” After decades of protest and activism, American women finally won their battle for suffrage. This was considered a radical change in the American constitution.

1924

Indian Citizenship Act

In June of 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act into law. Though nearly two-thirds of all American Indian people had acquired U.S. citizenship, the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924 granted full U.S. citizenship to all American Indian people in the country. Almost 125,000 American Indian people immediately became U.S. citizens.

1927

Nixon v. Herndon

After Reconstruction, the Southern region of the United States was overtaken by the Democratic party due to the disintegration of the Republicans and the Populists. Therefore, when Texas created a law in the 1920s that barred Blacks from voting in the Democratic primary, they were disenfranchised. Dr. L. A. Nixon, a Black man from El Paso, attacked the law as a violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments. The Court found that the Texas law was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

The Court gave the Democratic party the responsibility of enfranchising Texan Blacks. Only in Smith v. Allwright (1944) did the Court outlaw white primaries altogether and finally permit the integration of Blacks into Southern politics.

1934

Indian Reorganization Act (IRA)

The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 ended the process of allotment that had broken up tribal lands and worked to put Indian people back in control of tribal affairs. The IRA promoted self-government of tribal nations by providing tribes with constitutions designed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Today, the IRA is remembered with mixed reactions. Though the IRA did end the devastating process of allotment and worked to put Indian people in control of tribal affairs, it fell short. The constitutions tribes were encouraged to adopt perpetuated the federal government’s paternalism of Indian nations and were often incompatible with more traditional forms of tribal governance.

1942

The Soldier Voting Act

The Soldier Voting Act was the first legislation that guaranteed military members – including African Americans – a vote in presidential and congressional elections during wartime, regardless of registration and poll tax requirements.

 

Reports about returning Black veterans being refused voter registration, being beaten and even killed for advocating for their rights shocked the country and shifted attitudes more toward sympathy with African American voters after the war.

1944

Smith v. Allwright

Texas’ infamous white primary system ended after the 1944 Smith v. Allwright Supreme Court decision ruled that white primaries as established by Texas were unconstitutional. Most other Southern states ended their white primaries after this decision but kept other laws aimed at keeping African Americans from the polls.

1946

National Committee on Civil Rights

Instances of racial unrest throughout the nation inspired President Truman to convene a National Committee on Civil Rights in 1946. The committee’s report (To Secure These Rights) was blunt and honest. While recognizing the importance of states’ rights, the report asserted that, “the National Government of the United States must take the lead in safeguarding the rights of all Americans.” It called upon Congress to abolish poll taxes and bar discrimination in federal and state elections.

1948

Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces

On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed this executive order establishing the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, beginning the integration of a currently segregated military.

1954

Brown v. Board of Education

The Supreme Court effectively overruled Plessy v. Ferguson in 1954, ending “separate but equal.” Brown v. Board of Education and its defeat of the doctrine of separate but equal stripped away constitutional sanctions protecting racial segregation. The Supreme Court’s decision on May 17, 1954 became a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement and the right to vote.

1955

Federal Voting Assistance Act

The Federal Voting Assistance Act was a law that recommended absentee registration and voting for military members, government employees, and citizens associated with the military who were living overseas. The Act was designed to make voting easier for those in the Armed Forces and civil service, but did not guarantee the provisions.

1965

Voting Rights Act of 1965

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) gave the federal government power to ensure that state and local voting laws are not discriminatory. The most important permanent provisions of the VRA are Section 2, which bans racial discrimination in voting nationwide, and Sections 4 and 201, which ban literacy tests nationwide.

Immigration and Naturalization Act

The passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished nationality quotas put in place in 1921, which increased immigration from Mexico, South America, West and East Africa, East and South Asia.

1971

The 26th Amendment

The 26th Amendement, passed during the Vietnam War, lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

1973

Rehabilitation Act

Also known as the “Rehab Act,” this legislation prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities across all federal programs. The Act set a goal of employing people with disabilities as 7 percent of federal contractor workforce, and addressed the key issue of employment discrimination.

Another central component of the Rehabilitation Act was the commitment to providing adequate accessibility to services and accommodations in the workplace. This included everything from architectural standards to computer software. The Act was a precursor to subsequent disability rights legislation.

1974

Richardson v. Ramirez

This was a landmark case dealing with the voting rights of people with felony convications and the 14th Amendment. The case was brought forth as a class action lawsuit from released prisoners who argued that they should have their voting rights restored. The Court disagreed, however, and decided that Section 2 of the 14th Amendment protected voting rights “except for participation in rebellion, or other crime.” This language was interpreted to allow states to continue to disenfranchise those with felony convictions after their sentence was complete.

1975

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Section 203

Congress enacted Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act in 1975 when they realized there was a link between language and low voter turnout. “Section 203 requires certain counties and jurisdictions to provide bilingual voting materials in communities with language minorities and limited-English proficient residents.” Congress reauthorized and strengthened Section 203 in 1992 and 2006. “By enacting Section 203, Congress recognized that many minority citizens were not exercising their fundamental right to vote due to high illiteracy rates and unequal educational opportunities.”

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

Originally enacted in 1975, the Earned Income Tax Credit is a tax benefit for low income people. The credit incentivizes work and rewards workers with a tax break or refund. The legislation has been relatively popular over time, with expansions to it enacted in 1986, 1990, 1993, 2001 and 2009.

1980

Mobile v. Bolden

Decided in 1980, this Supreme Court case stated that plaintiffs, when fighting a violation of the Voting Rights Act, had to prove that the law intended to discriminate. Congress then changed the Act to say that a violation could be proven if it resulted in discrimination, regardless of intentions.

1982

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Section 208

Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act provides for voters who need assistance to vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write. Any such voter may be given assistance by a person of the voter's choice, other than the voter's employer or agent of the employer or officer or agent of the voter's union.

1984

Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped

The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, also known as VAEHA, was enacted by Congress in 1984 (42 U.S.C. 1973ee to 1973ee-6). VAEHA requires states to take certain steps to make the voting process accessible to people with disabilities.

1985

Hunter v. Underwood

This case involved the voting rights of an African American man and white man from Alabama who were blocked from voting after writing faulty checks. The relevant state law allowed disenfranchisement for anyone who committed a “crime...involving moral turpitude.” This provision was found to be racially discriminatory due to its intent and involvement of moral judgement. The Court ruled that the law was discriminatory and therefore invalid, but did not rule on the legality of disenfranchisement in general, which left the practice in place.

1986

Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)

This act was meant to consolidate all previous voting acts concerning citizens living overseas by allowing them to register and vote absentee. It also created the federal write-in absentee ballot, which is counted in the absence of a state ballot arriving overseas.

1990

Americans With Disabilities Act

The ADA, or American with Disabilities Act, became law on July 26, 1990. It allows those with disabilities to have the same employment opportunities, to purchase goods and services, and to participate in state and local government programs and services with as much ease as possible and without discrimination. It is also an "equal opportunity" law for people with disabilities.

"To be protected by the ADA, one must have a disability, (defined by the ADA as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities); be a person who has a history or record of such an impairment; or be a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment."

1992

Voting Rights Language Assistance Act

Extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 aimed at expanding bilingual assistance to voters and ensure that voting materials were accessible to non-English speakers. The bill was set to expire in 2007, but was subsequently renewed with the 2006 Voting Rights Amendments.

1993

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was a policy passed in 1993. It prohibited questioning by military leaders regarding potential servicemembers’ sexual orientations, but also prohibited LGB military personnel from discussing their sexual orientations.

While the policy was intended to lift the ban on LGB service in the military that had been in place prior, it still prevented them from serving openly. After leading to the discharging of thousands of servicemembers and generating significant backlash from the community it was intended to benefit, the policy was repealed in 2011.

Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is federal legislation that allows employees to take leave in certain situations without losing their position or benefits. Covered reasons include: childbirth, adoption, caring for a sick family member and personal illness. This was an important step for working women, who are often the primary caretakers.

1996

Defense of Marriage Act

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) barred the recognition of same-sex marriage by federal law. It defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

The summer of 2013 saw the Supreme Court strike down DOMA. The ruling caused a variety of issues for states that did not recognize same-sex marriage, due to conflicts between state and federal law relating to tax breaks, pension rights, and other benefits.

 

2003

Lawrence v. Texas

In Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court ruled that state laws banning homosexual sodomy are unconstitutional, due to a violation of the right to privacy.

2004

ACLU of Minnesota v. Kiffmeyer

On October 27, 2004, the ACLU of Minnesota and American Indian voters filed an action in the federal district court claiming that Minnesota voting requirements violated equal protection and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) because of overly restrictive voter identification requirements for American Indian voters. Judge Rosenbaum found that Minnesota’s previously existing requirement of recognizing tribal photo identification cards as proof of both identity and address, but only if the voter resided on a reservation, violated equal protection. The decision ordered that a tribal photo identification card be accepted as proof of both identity and address, and if the identification card did not show a current address then it be accepted as proof of identity and a document such as a recent utility bill could be used as proof of address. This made American Indian voting requirements the same as voters with driver’s licenses, who were typically white. 

2006

Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act

The Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act was written to reaffirm and enforce provisions of the Voting Rights Act that were set to expire in 2007. The provisions of the Reauthorization include continuing the requirement that jurisdictions with a long history of voting discrimination must submit any voting changes to the Department of Justice or a federal court before they are implemented and providing materials in languages other than English in places where there are large percentages of voters with limited English proficiency.

2008

Military Accessions Vital to National Interest

The Department of Defense implemented this as a one-year pilot program that allowed the Army to recruit noncitizens without green cards — people here on temporary visas or who sought asylum status — into the armed forces and in return these noncitizens would become naturalized citizens. This was done to help the Army recruit people with necessary language and medical skills. The program was renewed in 2012 and extended through September 2016.

2009

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Named after a female tire company employee from Alabama who successfully sued her employer for wage discrimination after a nearly 20-year period, the Fair Pay Act addresses a 2007 Supreme Court decision that disallowed legal action on wage discrimination after a certain period of time. The legislation helps to ensure that individuals subjected to illegal pay discrimination are able to effectively assert their rights under federal anti-discrimination laws, without having to worry about a legal time limit.

2010

Farrakhan v. Gregoire

In Farrakhan v. Gregoire, the Ninth Circuit Court in Washington State ruled that the racial impact of the state’s disenfranchisement law is rooted in the racial discrimination of the state justice system. The court found that this racial discrimination “hinders the ability of racial minorities to participate effectively in the political process, as disenfranchisement is automatic.” This is the first court decision in the United States to find that, because of racial discrimination in the state’s criminal justice system, felony disenfranchisement law denies voting rights based upon race, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Citizens United v. FEC

This landmark case addressed campaign contribution restrictions placed on organizations, specifically “independent political expenditures.” The case was argued as a first amendment case, equating political spending by corporations or unions with free speech. Ultimately, the Court agreed that organizational political spending is protected, provided that there is no direct contribution or coordination with a candidate or campaign.

The decision has proved to be extremely controversial, with many opponents believing that unrestricted donations from organizations undermines the openness and relative equality of candidates. This is a key example of how money and politics are intertwined.

2013

Shelby County v. Holder

In a split decision, the Supreme Court ruled that coverage formula for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was an unconstitutional method of determination. This decision effectively halted the preclearance Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which meant that many states and jurisdictions no longer had to prove their voting methods were undiscriminatory.

California Council of the Blind v. Alameda County

This case marked a major victory for protecting the right to vote privately and independently, especially for those with disabilities. the California county was required to provide both the space and technology to ensure voters would have a private ballot regardless of physical or mental disabilities.

2014

McCutcheon v. FEC

This case addressed a political contribution limit that restricted the aggregate amount of money that an individual could donate to candidates or parties per election year. In its decision, the Court loosened the cap on maximum contributions. While the amount an individual could donate to any single candidate did not increase, a single person can now donate to an unlimited number of candidates per election cycle, allowing a much greater total contribution.

Women’s Economic Security Act

Minnesota legislation aimed at strengthening workplace protections for new mothers, decreasing the gender pay gap and expanding opportunities for women in high-wage positions. The bill targets wage discrimination and ensures that large companies that contract with the state government pay equal wages. Additionally, the Act expanded family and sick leave from six to twelve weeks in Minnesota.

Minnesota Election Law Statutes, section 204B.27 subd. 11

“The Secretary of State may develop voting instructions in languages other than English, to be posted and made available in polling places during elections. The State Demographer shall determine and report to the Secretary of State the languages that are so common in this state that there is a need for translated voting instructions.” --Minnesota Election Law Statutes, section 204B.27 subd. 11 

This statute allowed voting instructions to be created and made available in languages other than English. By allowing polling instructions to be posted in languages common to a state other than Enligsh, one less voting barrier exists for non-native English speakers. 

2015

Tribal Equal Access to Voting Act

Legislation proposed by the United State Department of Justice aimed at ensuring equal access to the polls for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Due to the remoteness of many reservations and villages, the voter participation rates of these groups is consistently among the lowest. The bill would bring funding to polling places located closer to where people live and enfranchise some people who would have otherwise been unable or unmotivated to vote.

As of now, the bill is still only a proposal and has not been introduced into Congress.

Voting Rights Advancement Act

In response to the Shelby County v. Holder (2013) decision, some members of Congress proposed a new coverage formula in the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015.

The bill proposes a change to Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act requiring the Attorney General to look back 15 years on a rolling basis at state and local voting rights violation in order to determine which jurisdictions must continue to be subjected to preclearance.

The bill was referred to the House Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice in July 2015, and has yet to be voted on.

Obergefell v. Hodges

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges  that states cannot ban same-sex marriage.

The Equality Act

The purpose of this proposed bill is to include sex, sexual orientation and gender identity as prohibited categories of discrimination in places of public accommodation.

In short, it would mean that regardless of sex, gender or orientation, people cannot be discriminated against in stores, on public transportation and anywhere else where the public has access. The bill is currently in the House Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.