Ch. 6 Preview

1. The constitution does not give the Federal Government power for voting restrictions, but rather the power is reserved for the states. The constitution itself does place five restrictions for all states. These restrictions include voting for all elections in a state, you can't deprive a person of the right to vote based on race, color, or sex. You can not tax voting, and you have to be at least 18 years old to vote.

2. Today there are no restrictions for voting based on literacy, but at one time there was. They use to make a person pass a qualifying test to cast a ballot. This was used to discourage many African American voters, because many weren't able to read or write. Soon states discovered they needed to change this, because there were some white males who couldn't pass the qualification test. So they created "grandfather clauses" to help the white males pass the test.

3.In section three it talks about many amendments and acts that deal with voting qualifications. The Fifteenth Amendment declared that the right to vote cannot be denied to any citizen of the US because of race, color, or condition of servitude. Another Amendment was the 24th that banned poll tax as a requirement for voting, and the 26th set the minimum voting age at 18. The Voting Rights Act eliminated the literacy test, and the Indian Citizedship Act granted all Native Americans the right to vote in federal elections.
4. In section four there are many sociological factors that can be taken into consideration when voting. A person's occupation, for instance, people whith a higher income tend to vote Republican, and people with a lower income tend to vote Democrat. A person's gender can also matter when dealing with different issues such as abortion. A person's geography, like the state they live in can have an impact on their vote. Family is another big impact. Members of a family tend to vote in the same way.

5. Voter apathy is Americans who don't vote in any elections. To help this increasing trend in America, we need to step up and let people know there vote does count. In school they need to continue or grow in the education of voting and government. Also, as parents or adults they need to instill values in young people that emphasizes something larger than themselves.

6. To qualify to vote you must be an American citizen and at least 18 years old. You also have to be a resident of the state you are voting in. You can register by mail, at a local city office, or sometimes on the internet. You have to have proof of your age, such as a birth certificate.

Minor Political Parties

The constitution party

The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States. We hereby appeal to Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance and the protection of His Providence as we work to restore and preserve these United States.

Third Party

Democrats

The democratic party started out as the Democratic-Republicans before becoming just the Democrats.  They were first known as the Anti-federalists led by Thomas Jefferson who was more sympathetic to the "common man" than the Federalists were.  Later it became known as the Jefferson Republicans or the Democratic-Republicans until it became the Democrats in 1928.

The Democratic party favors farmers, laborers, labor unions, and ethnic minorites. They have had 15 members hold the office as president with Barack Obama being the most recent.  They are the minority in the House of Representatives but hold the majority in the Senate.  They are also the minority in the State governships and state legislatures.

Republicans

The Republican party is generally known as the Grand Old Party or GOP.  It was founded by anti slavery acitvists in 1854.  The main cause of the party was to oppose the Kansas-Nebraska act, which repealedthe Missouri compromise by which slavery was held out of Kansas. The first meeting where they came up with the name Republicans was held in a little schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin.

Today the Republican party supports capital punishment and other severe punishments to prevent crime. They also supports gun rights and oppose laws that regulate gun ownerships.  Although some Republicans in urban areas have started to favor limited restrictions on guns. Most of the republicans are pro-life and oppose elective abortion.