The right of any citizen of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of the race, color, or previous condition of slavery of any citizen or class of citizens of the United States. The Constitution originally left who could vote in elections to the states. This would be the first amendment to directly address voting. Like the final text, this draft focused squarely on racial discrimination, attacking both state and national abuses. Other drafts—including proposals that passed one house of Congress—swept more broadly. The Congress shall have power to enforce by proper legislation the provisions of this article. Previous amendments limited national power. The Reconstruction Amendments would be the first to empower the national government—a significant innovation that future amendments would follow.

No State shall deny or abridge the right of its citizens to vote and hold office on account of race, color, or previous condition. The Constitution originally left who could vote in elections to the states. This would be the first amendment to directly address voting—restricting state authority and carving out a role for the national government to protect against abuses. Congress debated whether to cover just voting or voting and office-holding, like it did here. The final text only explicitly protected voting. Like the final text, this language focuses squarely on race. Other drafts—including proposals that passed one of the houses of Congress—swept more broadly. The Congress by appropriate legislation, may enforce the provisions of this article. Previous amendments limited national power. The Reconstruction Amendments would be the first to empower the national government—a significant innovation that future amendments would follow.

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge or deny to any male citizen of the United States, of sound mind, and over twenty-one years of age, the equal exercise of the elective franchise at all elections in the State wherein he shall have actually resided for a period of one year next preceding such election, except such of said citizens as shall hereafter engage in rebellion or insurrection, or who may have been or shall be duly convicted of treason or other crime of the grade of felony at common law. Broader than other proposals, this provision was not limited to racial discrimination. It guaranteed all male citizens over 21 and of “sound mind” the right to vote—subject to few other restrictions. While providing broad protections for voting, this draft did explicitly allow states to exclude felons and those who engaged in future rebellions from voting. It did not touch the ex-Confederates.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote, and hold office shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Constitution originally left who could vote in elections to the states. This proposal would directly address voting. Congress debated whether to cover just voting or voting and office-holding, as in this draft. The final text only explicitly protected voting. Like the final text, this language focused squarely on racial discrimination, limiting both state and national authority. Other drafts—including proposals that passed one of the houses of Congress—swept more broadly.

No discrimination shall be made in any State among the citizens of the United States in the exercise of the elective franchise or in the right to hold office in any State on account of race, color, nativity, property, education, or creed. The Constitution originally left who could vote in elections to the states. This amendment sought to restrict the states' ability to discriminate in voting. Congress debated whether to cover just voting or voting and office-holding, as in this draft. The final text only explicitly protected voting.This provision swept more broadly than the final text. It focused not only on race, but also on “nativity, property, education, or creed”—language that might have been used to attack future Jim Crow laws like poll taxes and literacy tests.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote and hold office shall not be denied or abridged by any State on account of race, color, nativity, property, creed, or previous condition of servitude. The Constitution originally left who could vote in elections to the states. This would directly address voting. Congress debated whether to cover just voting or voting and office-holding, as in this draft. The final text only explicitly protected voting. This provision swept more broadly than the final text. It focused not only on race, but also on “nativity, property,” and “creed”—language that might have been used to attack future Jim Crow laws like poll taxes.

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. The Constitution originally left who could vote in elections to the states. This would be the first amendment to directly address voting. This language also focused squarely on race, protecting citizens from discrimination by the national government or the states. Other drafts—including proposals that passed one of the houses of Congress—swept more broadly.

Section One The right of citizens of the United States to vote This provision was the first to directly address voting rights. The Constitution originally let states determine who could vote in elections, and African Americans had long called for access to the ballot. By defending the Union cause on the battlefield and risking their lives to flee enemy lines, black men laid claim to this new protection. shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The final text focused on voting and race. Earlier drafts—including proposals that passed one congressional house—swept more broadly. Republicans disagreed over whether the amendment should cover office-holding. They also debated whether to cover other forms of voter discrimination. None of these additional protections made it into the final text. Section Two The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. This section follows the other Reconstruction Amendments in granting Congress the power to enforce its provisions. While the original Constitution left the issue of voting to the states, this section enabled Congress to protect African Americans from racial discrimination in voting. Congress eventually used this power to pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act.