This activity is part of Module 13: Voting Rights in America from the Constitution 101 Curriculum.
From the 1870s through the early 1900s, the Supreme Court began to cut back on the 15th Amendment in cases like United States v. Reese (1876) and Giles v. Harris (1903)—breaking the 15th Amendment’s promise of racial equality at the ballot box and green lighting Jim Crow discrimination in the South.
However, the Supreme Court began to reverse course a few decades later. And while the Supreme Court rejected the suffragists’ 14th Amendment argument in Minor v. Happersett, the Court did eventually extend the 14th Amendment’s protections to cover voting rights.
The Supreme Court has continuously said that the right to vote is a fundamental right protected under the 14th Amendment. As the Supreme Court explained, the right to vote is “preservative of all rights.”
As a result, the Court has struck down various laws for infringing on the right to vote—most notably, Jim Crow laws discriminating against African Americans.
For instance, in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966), the Court struck down the use of poll taxes in state and local elections as a violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. There, Annie Harper couldn’t pay a $1.50 poll tax. She argued that it violated the 14th Amendment’s promise of equality. And she won. The Court concluded that wealth had no rational connection to a person’s eligibility to vote.
In recent years, the Supreme Court has considered a variety of voting rights issues.
To further explore this topic, download the attached info brief!
