Since 1787, when the Constitution of the United States was formally created, the right to vote was considered an inalienable one. That being said, although we are justified in considering the Constitution to be the bedrock of our republic, the Constitution was far from perfect in its early days. From the time of the Founding Fathers to the present, numerous critical factors have changed the voting process. Firstly, it is important to consider who was allowed to vote in the first place. Although the Confederation set out to protect American rights, numerous American citizens were barred from voting, including slaves and women. About 6% of the 3.9 million people making up the population of the United States were eligible to vote, the 6% represented by white, upper-class men who owned land. Today, by contrast, everyone who is conferred American citizenship and who is aged 18 years or older can legally vote.
As such, we must pay attention to the historical progression of voting rights and eligibility concerns. Since the Civil War, thanks to the proactive and liberal-minded attitude of Abraham Lincoln, the Constitution has been amended to disallow limiting voting rights based on gender, age, race and wealth. Secondly, it would be useful to us as historians to consider the widened pool of people who gradually were permitted to vote. A number of key events need to be underlined. In 1848, a rallying speech by Frederick Douglass stirred people to action and to adopt a resolution stating the need for voting rights for women, which was finally granted in the 1900s. By 1870, the 15th Amendment is passed, explicitly forbidding a state to deny a citizen the right to vote based on race. These examples serve to juxtapose the past to the present and to highlight changes that we may not be aware of in today’s relatively democratic society where every American citizen aged 18 years or older can vote (thanks to the 26th Amendment).
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In Chapter VII, Gitelson lays out numerous factors that influence voter choice and voter participation in presidential elections. Gitelson argues that the length of campaigns, the size of voting population, and television advertising time are some choice examples that allow one candidate to win an election over another. But the question remains- who votes in presidential elections and who is shoved aside? Gitelson convincingly argues that voter turnout rates fluctuate due to a number of trends.
For example, the common consensus among pollsters is that 18-to-24-year olds are politically disengaged and rarely vote. Gitelson takes issue with this opinion, writing that interest in politics is rising among young American citizens. To back up his argument, Gitelson informs us that the voter turnout rate was 42% in 2004 and that 25% handed out money or actively participated in campaigns. On the flip side, we may see this trend being quickly overturned due to a number of reasons. A growing gap between the Republicans and the Democrats is furling bitterness and resentment among the younger population, especially those who backed up Barack Obama in 2008. Young American citizens of Mexican origin who may have witnessed their family members or friends being deported due to Trump’s draconian law may also feel disinclined to vote in the future. In light of this information, it may come as little surprise to learn that voter turnout has historically been low among ethnic minorities, especially since 2008 when the voter turnout rate was much lower among Hispanics and Asians if compared to that of Caucasians.
Income levels and educational background affect voter turnout rates. Experts have estimated that citizens with a university degree are three times more likely to vote than citizens who have obtained a high school diploma.
In light of this information, as Gitelson repeatedly reminds us, there are many myths about the American political system and voting rights that need to be exposed.
- Gitelson, Alan. American Government: Myths and Realities. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
