ETVT that the consitution protects democracy (30) Flashcards
Paragraphs
Electoral system
Electoral discrimination
Individual rights protection
They do protect individual rights
The bill of rights has 10 amendments to the US constitution that protect individual rights, this includes the 1st amendment right to free speech. Further rights have been protected in other amendments such as the 14th and the 15th amendments.
Article 3 of the constitution gives the supreme court power to enforce such rights and the power of judicial review.
Obergefell v Hodges 2015, Snyder v Phelps 2015
15th amendment and civil rights. GOOD BALANCE OF RIGID AND VAUGENESS
They dont protect individual rights
Old document, so whilst vague, it doesn’t include a number of more modern rights such as right to a abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
Dobbs v Jackson 2022 and Thomas concurring opinion to Dobes arguing for the retrial of other 14th amendment cases that the constitution doesn’t explicitly protect.
Amendment process is very difficult, particularly in the current polarised political climate, getting 38 states to agree will be very unrealistic. For example the Equal rights amendment was proposed in 1972 and was designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of their sex, however it only received 35 of the required 38 states votes.
Electoral discrimination it does
The 15th amendment in the US constitution gave African American men the right to vote in 1870, the poll tax had been used In some states to keep African Americans from voting in federal elections, the 24th amendment ratified in 1964 eliminated the poll tax.
In 2023 Allen v Milligan the Supreme court issued a 5-4 ruling in favour of black voters in a congressional redistricting case, ordering the creation of a second district with a large black population.
There was a violation of the Voting Rights Act 1965 in a Alabama congressional map with one majority Black seat out of seven congressional districts in a state where more than one in four residents is Black.
Congress under article 1 are given power of legislation under the elastic clause, Voting rights act 1965, this prohibits racial discrimination in voting, this is designed to enforce voting rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th amendments to the US constitution.
Voter turnout amongst black voters has increased significantly over the past 40 years, in 1980 only 50% went to the polls, by 2012 this number was 66%.
Electoral discrimination it doesnt
With the Voting rights act of 1965 is key legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. However, in the 21st century much of the VRA has been repealed.
In the run up to the 2016 election 9 states introduced photo ID laws, black voters are statistically far less likely to possess such documents and therefore abnormally effected.
Brnovich v DNC 2021 ruled that neither of Arizona’s election policies violated the VRA, this included one outlawing ballot collection and another banning out of precinct voting this reduced minority participation in Arizonan elections due to a higher proportion voting postally.
Furthermore, Shelby County v Holder 2013 overturned section 4b of the VRA, making section 5 null and void as well. The impact of this was that states could now require ID to vote. This ruling once again disproportionately affected minority voters, as they were less likely to have an ID.
Shelby counter v Holder ruled that the provisions placed a burden on the constitutional principles of federalism
1 in 13 African Americans have lost their right to vote due to previous convictions, a rate of 4 times higher than other Americans, this is called ‘felony disenfranchisement’.
