The 15th amendment: How does it apply to arguments over whether voting is a right or a privilege?

[TNHarley]

Is voting a right?

Yes — voting is a right. But it is a conditional right, not an absolute one, and the Constitution protects it in a specific way.

How the Constitution treats voting​

The U.S. Constitution does not originally grant a universal right to vote.Instead, it assumes states run elections and then adds amendments that prohibit discrimination in voting.

Those amendments include:

• 15th Amendment (1870): No denial of voting based on race
• 19th Amendment (1920): No denial based on sex
• 24th Amendment (1964): No poll taxes in federal elections
• 26th Amendment (1971): No denial based on age for citizens 18+

Once a state grants the franchise, these amendments protect it as a right.

Yes, that is basically what I said. It isnt what you said.

 

[jacksonlamb]

Yes, that is basically what I said. It isnt what you said.

Give it up. It is what I said, not what you said. It is a right, fully explained.