Multiple Choice Identify the
choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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2
Universal Requirements Today, every State requires that any person who wants to vote must be able to satisfy
qualifications based on three factors: (1) citizenship, (2) residence, and (3) age. The States have
some leeway in shaping the details of the first two of these factors; they have almost no discretion
with regard to the third one.
Citizenship Aliens—foreign-born residents who have not
become citizens—are generally denied the right to vote in the United States. Still, nothing in
the Constitution says that aliens cannot vote, and any State could allow them to do so if it chose.
At one time about a fourth of the States permitted those aliens who had applied for naturalization to
vote. Typically, the western States did so to help attract settlers.6
Only two States now
draw any distinction between native-born and naturalized citizens with regard to suffrage. The
Minnesota constitution requires a person to have been an American citizen for at least three months
before he or she can vote in elections there. And the Pennsylvania constitution says that one must
have become a citizen at least one month before an election in order to vote in that State.
![nar002-1.jpg](gov_ch_6-2_voter_qu_files/nar002-1.jpg)
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1.
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Which of the requirements below
do the states have no authority
to change?
a. | Residence | c. | How long a person
must live in the state to vote | b. | Citizenship | d. | Age |
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2.
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What does the U.S. Constitution
say about allowing aliens to vote?
a. | Aliens may not vote in the United
States | c. | Aliens can vote if they are legal
aliens | b. | Nothing | d. | Aliens need a green card to
vote |
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3 Residence In order to vote in this country today, one must be a legal resident of the State in
which he or she wishes to cast a ballot. In most States a person must have lived in the State for at
least a certain period of time before he or she can vote.
The States adopted residence
requirements for two reasons: (1) to keep a political machine from importing (bribing) enough
outsiders to affect the outcome of local elections (a once common practice), and (2) to allow new
voters at least some time to become familiar with the candidates and issues in an election.
For decades, every State imposed a fairly lengthy residence requirement—typically, a
year in the State, 60 or 90 days in the county, and 30 days in the local precinct or ward.7 The requirement was a longer
one in some southern States—for example, one year in the State, six months in the county, and
three months in the precinct in Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina, and a year in the State, a
year in the county, and six months in the precinct in Mississippi.
Residence requirements are
not nearly so long today. In fact, most States now require that a voter be a legal resident but
attach no time period to that qualification. About a fourth of them say that a voter must have
lived in a State for at least 30 days. In a few, the period is somewhat shorter—for example, 29
days in Arizona, 28 in Kentucky, 20 in Minnesota, and 10 in Wisconsin.8
Today’s much
shorter requirements are a direct result of a 1970 law and a 1972 Supreme Court decision. In the
Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, Congress banned any requirement of longer than 30 days for
voting in presidential elections.9 In Dunn v.
Blumstein, 1972, the Supreme Court found Tennessee’s requirement—at the time, a
year in the State and 90 days in the county—unconstitutional. The Court held such a lengthy
requirement to be an unsupportable discrimination against new residents and so in conflict with the
14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The Supreme Court said that “30 days appears to
be an ample period of time.” Election law and practice among the States quickly accepted that
standard
Nearly every State does prohibit transients, persons living in the
State for only a short time, from gaining a legal residence there. Thus, a traveling sales agent, a
member of the armed services, or a college student usually cannot vote in a State where he or she has
only a temporary physical residence. In several States, however, the courts have held that college
students who claim the campus community as their legal residence can vote there.
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3.
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In order to vote in the U.S.
today a citizen must be .....
a. | a legal resident of any state in the
United States | c. | at least working
on the process of becoming a citizen of the U.S. | b. | a natural citizen of the United
States | d. | a legal resident of the state they are voting
in |
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4.
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What did the Voting Rights Act
of 1970 ban regarding state residency?
a. | States cannot require residency for
more than 90 days in presidential elections | c. | The Voting Rights Act said nothing about state residency
requirements | b. | States cannot require residency for more than 30 days in presidential
elections | d. | States cannot require citizens to
reside in the states they are voting from in presidential
elections |
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5.
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What did the Supreme Court rule
in the Dunn v. Blumstein, case?
a. | If you require citizens to be
residents for too long a time it is a form of discrimination against new
residents | c. | The states cannot
require citizens to be residents of the state they are voting from | b. | Resident aliens have a right to vote just like any other
citizen of the state | d. | Illegal aliens cannot
vote |
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6.
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What part of the constitution
did the Supreme Court use in its Dunn v. Blumstein,
ruling?
a. | 14th Amendment which guarantees
equal protection of the law for
all citizens | c. | The free speech
section of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution | b. | 15th Amendment which guarantees Black men the right to
vote | d. | The 20th Amendment which guarantees women the right to
vote |
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7.
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What do most of the states say
about transients and voting?
a. | Transients can vote like any other
citizen of the state | c. | College students
cannot vote | b. | Transients cannot vote in the state | d. | Military persons can vote in any state because they represent the entire
United States |
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Age The 26th Amendment, added to the Constitution in 1971,
declares: From The Constitution “The right
of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.” —26th
Amendment
Thus, no State may set the minimum age for voting in any
election at more than 18. In other words, the amendment extends suffrage to citizens who are at least
18 years of age. Notice, however, that any State could set the age at less than 18, if it chose to do
so.
Until the 26th Amendment was adopted, the generally accepted age requirement for voting
was 21. In fact, up to 1970, only four States had put the age under 21. Georgia was the first State
to allow 18-year-olds to vote; it did so in 1943, in the midst of World War II. Kentucky followed
suit in 1955. Alaska entered the Union in 1959 with the voting age set at 19, and Hawaii became a
State later that same year with a voting age of 20.
Both Alaska and Hawaii set the age above
18 but below 21 to avoid potential problems caused by high school students voting in local
school-district elections. Whatever the fears at the time, there have been no such problems in any
State since the passage of the 26th Amendment.
Efforts to lower the voting age to 18
nationwide began in the 1940s, during World War II. These efforts were capped by the adoption of the
26th Amendment in 1971, during the war in Vietnam. That amendment was ratified more quickly than any
other amendment to the Constitution. This fact is testament to the emotional weight of the principal
argument in its favor: “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote.”
How have
18-to-20-year-olds responded to the 26th Amendment? In short, not very well. In election after
election, young voters are much less likely to vote than any other age group in the electorate. In
1972, 48 percent of the 18-to-20 age group voted, but by 2000 that figure had plummeted to 28
percent. It did rise in 2004, and substantially—to nearly 38 percent. But contrast that figure
with the turnout of Americans 65 and older. Despite the infirmities that may accompany their age,
their rate regularly exceeds 60 percent, and it did so again in 2004.
In a growing number of
States, some 17-year-olds can now cast ballots in primary elections. Those States allow anyone whose
18th birthday falls after the primary but before the general election to vote in the primary
election.
One State, Nebraska, has come very close to effectively lowering the voting age to
17 for all elections. There, any person who will be 18 by the Tuesday following the first Monday in
November can qualify to vote in any election held during that calendar year.
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8.
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Which Amendment gave 18 year
olds the right to vote?
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9.
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When did the push to allow 18
year olds to vote start?
a. | During the Viet Nam war in the
1970’s | c. | During the Korean
War in the 1950’s | b. | During World War II in the 1940’s | d. | During the Civil Rights movement in the
1960’s |
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10.
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What does the Constitution say
about allowing people younger than 18 to vote?
a. | States can allow citizens younger
than 18 to vote | c. | Only the United
States can determine how young a person needs to be to vote | b. | States cannot allow citizens younger than 18 to
vote | d. | Only resident aliens are allowed to vote if they are
younger than 18 |
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Other Qualifications The States have imposed a number of other qualifications over time—notably,
requirements based on literacy, tax payment, and registration. Only registration has survived as a
significant requirement.
Registration Forty-nine
States—all except North Dakota—require that most or all voters be registered to vote. Registration is a procedure of
voter identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting. It gives election officials a list of
those persons who are qualified to vote in an election. Several States also use voter registration to
identify voters in terms of their party preference and, thus, their eligibility to take part in
closed primaries.
Voter registration became a common feature of State election law in the
early 1900s. Today, most States require all voters to register in order to vote in any election held
within the State. A few do not impose the requirement for all elections, however. In Wisconsin, for
example, only those in urban areas must register to vote.10
Typically, a
prospective voter must register his or her name, age, place of birth, present address, length of
residence, and similar facts. The information is logged by a local official, usually a registrar of
elections or the county clerk. A voter typically remains registered unless or until he or she moves,
dies, is convicted of a serious crime, or is committed to a mental institution.
State law
directs local election officials to review the lists of registered voters and to remove the names of
those who are no longer eligible to vote. This process is known as purging, and it is usually supposed to
be done every two or four years. Unfortunately, the requirement is often ignored. Where it is, the poll books (the official lists of
qualified voters in each precinct) soon become clogged with the names of a great many people who, for
one reason or another, are no longer eligible to vote.
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11.
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What is the main purpose of
registration?
a. | raise money for the political
parties | c. | to prevent voter
fraud | b. | spy on the electorate | d. | motivate citizens to vote |
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12.
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What do they call it when
election officials review registration lists and remove persons who are no longer eligible to
vote?
a. | fracking | c. | purging | b. | tracking | d. | burning |
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13.
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What happens when the poll
books are not purged for a long time?
a. | voter lists become overloaded with
names of people not eligible to vote | c. | voters on the list are not allowed to vote | b. | the voting precincts are shut
down | d. | voter lists (poll books) are destroyed and everyone has to
re-register |
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Most people who have studied
the problem favor keeping the registration requirement as a necessary defense against fraud. However,
they also favor making the process a more convenient one. In short, they see the problem in these
terms: Where is the line between making it so easy to vote that fraud is encouraged, and making it so
difficult that legitimate voting is discouraged?
Most States have eased the registration
process over the last several years, and in 1993 Congress passed a law that required every State (but
North Dakota) to do so. That law, dubbed the “Motor Voter Law,” became effective in 1995.
It directs every State to (1) allow all eligible citizens to register to vote when they apply for or
renew a driver’s license; (2) provide for voter registration by mail; and (3) make registration
forms available at the local offices of State employment, welfare, and other social service agencies.
The Federal Election Commission reports that by 2000 some 8 million persons had registered to vote as
a direct result of the Motor Voter Law.
The law also requires every State to mail a
questionnaire to each of its registered voters every four years, so that the poll books can be purged
for deaths and changes of residence. It also forbids the States to purge for any other reason,
including failure to vote.
Maine and Wisconsin allow voters to register at any time, up to
and including election day. Elsewhere a voter must be registered by some date before an election,
often 20 or 30 days beforehand.11 That cutoff gives election
officials time to prepare the poll books for an upcoming election.
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14.
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Most states require citizens to
register
a. | a month to twenty days before
election day | c. | one year prior to
election day | b. | by election day | d. | six months prior to election day |
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Literacy Today, no State has a suffrage qualification based on voter literacy—a person’s
ability to read or write. At one time, the literacy requirement could be, and in many places was,
used to make sure that a qualified voter had the capacity to cast an informed ballot. It also was
used unfairly in many places to prevent or discourage certain groups from voting. For many years, it
was a device to keep African Americans from voting in parts of the South, and Native Americans and
Latinos from voting in the West and Southwest.
Some literacy requirements called for
potential voters to prove they had the ability to read; other States required proof of the ability to
both read and write. Still others required the ability to read, write, and “understand”
some printed material, usually a passage taken from the State or Federal Constitution. Often, whites
were asked to “understand” short, plainly worded passages; African Americans were faced
with long and highly complex passages.
A grandfather clause was added to the Louisiana
constitution in 1895; Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia soon added
them as well. These clauses stated that any man, or his male descendants, who had voted in the State
before the adoption of the 15th Amendment (1870) could become a legal voter without regard to any
literacy or taxpaying qualifications. The Supreme Court found the Oklahoma provision, the last to be
adopted (in 1910), in conflict with the 15th Amendment in Guinn v. United States in
1915.
A number of States outside the South also adopted literacy qualifications: Wyoming in
1889, California in 1894, Washington in 1896, New Hampshire in 1902, Arizona in 1913, New York in
1921, Oregon in 1924, and Alaska in 1949. Its unfair use finally led Congress to eliminate literacy
as a suffrage qualification in the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970. The Supreme Court agreed in
Oregon v. Mitchell, 1970: Primary Sources
“In enacting the literacy test ban … Congress had before it a long
history of the discriminatory use of literacy tests to disfranchise voters on account of their
race.” —Justice Hugo Black, Opinion of the Court
At the time Congress
banned literacy tests, 18 States had some form of literacy requirement.
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15.
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How many states have a literacy
requirement for voting?
a. | four | c. | nine | b. | seven | d. | none |
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16.
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What was the purpose of the
literacy requirement for voting?
a. | to make sure that everyone could
vote | c. | to encourage reading among the
voting public | b. | to keep some groups from voting | d. | to encourage students to stay in
school |
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17.
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What was the purpose of
“grandfathering” voters who might not be able to read?
a. | to allow black men to
vote | c. | to enable non-reading whites to
vote | b. | to allow black women | d. | to enable all black people to
vote |
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18.
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What did the supreme court rule
in the Guinn v. United
States in 1915?
a. | Grandfathering was okay in
Oklahoma | c. | Grandfathering was
a state matter | b. | Grandfathering was in violation of the 15th
Amendment | d. | Since voting is a state matter, the
supreme court has no authority to rule against grandfathering in
Oklahoma |
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19.
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What law did congress pass in
1970 to finally eliminate literacy as a voting requirement?
a. | The Immigration Act of
1970 | c. | Voting Rights
Act | b. | War on poverty | d. | 20th Amendment |
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Tax Payment Property ownership, proved by the payment of property taxes, was once a very common
suffrage qualification. For decades several States also demanded the payment of a special tax, called
the poll tax, as a condition for
voting. Those requirements and others that called for the payment of a tax in order to vote have
disappeared.
The poll tax was once found throughout the South. Beginning with Florida in
1889, each of the 11 southern States adopted the poll tax as part of their effort to discourage
voting by African Americans. The device proved to be of only limited effectiveness, however. That
fact, and opposition to the use of the poll tax from within the South as well as elsewhere, led most
of those States to abandon it. By 1966, the poll tax was still in use only in Alabama, Mississippi,
Texas, and Virginia.12
The 24th Amendment,
ratified in 1964, outlawed the poll tax, or any other tax, as a condition for voting in any federal
election. The Supreme Court finally eliminated the poll tax as a qualification for voting in all
elections in 1966. In Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, the Court held the
Virginia poll tax to be in conflict with the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The
Court could find no reasonable relationship between the act of voting on the one hand and the payment
of a tax on the other.
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20.
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What is the special tax called
that is required of people before they can vote?
a. | Poll
tax | c. | State Income
tax | b. | SSI tax | d. | Motor Voter tax |
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21.
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Which amendment to the
constitution in 1964 outlawed the poll tax?
a. | 23rd
Amendment | c. | 25th
Amendment | b. | 24th Amendment | d. | 26th Amendment |
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22.
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In Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections the Supreme Court outlawed all poll
taxes based on
a. | the 5th Amendment which forbid
double jeopardy | c. | the 20th Amendment
which allowed women to vote | b. | the 15 Amendment which allowed black men to
voter | d. | the 14th Amendment which says that the laws have to be
applied equally to everyone |
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Multiple Response Identify one
or more choices that best complete the statement or answer the question.
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Section 2 Voter Qualifications
All of the States set
citizenship, residence, and age requirements for voting. Other voting qualifications have been
imposed by various States over time. Literacy tests and tax payment have been eliminated;
registration is required in all but one State today
Objectives Identify
the universal requirements for voting in the United States. Explain
the other requirements that States have used or still use as voting qual
Why It Matters All
States have citizenship, residence, and age requirements for voting. Other voting qualifications
differ from State to State. Some requirements—especially those that were used to disenfranchise
certain groups—have been eliminated over time.
Political Dictionary transient Person living in a State
for only a short time, without legal residence registration A procedure of voter
identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting. purge The process of reviewing lists of registered
voters and removing the names of those no longer eligible to vote; a purification poll books List of all registered voters in
each precinct literacy A
person’s ability to read or write poll tax A special tax, demanded by States, as a condition of voting
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23.
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What are the two objectives of
this lesson? (pick 2)
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2
Universal Requirements Today, every State requires that any person who wants to vote must be able to satisfy
qualifications based on three factors: (1) citizenship, (2) residence, and (3) age. The States have
some leeway in shaping the details of the first two of these factors; they have almost no discretion
with regard to the third one.
Citizenship Aliens—foreign-born residents who have not
become citizens—are generally denied the right to vote in the United States. Still, nothing in
the Constitution says that aliens cannot vote, and any State could allow them to do so if it chose.
At one time about a fourth of the States permitted those aliens who had applied for naturalization to
vote. Typically, the western States did so to help attract settlers.6
Only two States now
draw any distinction between native-born and naturalized citizens with regard to suffrage. The
Minnesota constitution requires a person to have been an American citizen for at least three months
before he or she can vote in elections there. And the Pennsylvania constitution says that one must
have become a citizen at least one month before an election in order to vote in that State.
![nar002-1.jpg](gov_ch_6-2_voter_qu_files/nar002-1.jpg)
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24.
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What is the difference between
a natural citizen and a naturalized citizen? (pick two)
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3 Residence In order to vote in this country today, one must be a legal resident of the State in
which he or she wishes to cast a ballot. In most States a person must have lived in the State for at
least a certain period of time before he or she can vote.
The States adopted residence
requirements for two reasons: (1) to keep a political machine from importing (bribing) enough
outsiders to affect the outcome of local elections (a once common practice), and (2) to allow new
voters at least some time to become familiar with the candidates and issues in an election.
For decades, every State imposed a fairly lengthy residence requirement—typically, a
year in the State, 60 or 90 days in the county, and 30 days in the local precinct or ward.7 The requirement was a longer
one in some southern States—for example, one year in the State, six months in the county, and
three months in the precinct in Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina, and a year in the State, a
year in the county, and six months in the precinct in Mississippi.
Residence requirements are
not nearly so long today. In fact, most States now require that a voter be a legal resident but
attach no time period to that qualification. About a fourth of them say that a voter must have
lived in a State for at least 30 days. In a few, the period is somewhat shorter—for example, 29
days in Arizona, 28 in Kentucky, 20 in Minnesota, and 10 in Wisconsin.8
Today’s much
shorter requirements are a direct result of a 1970 law and a 1972 Supreme Court decision. In the
Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970, Congress banned any requirement of longer than 30 days for
voting in presidential elections.9 In Dunn v.
Blumstein, 1972, the Supreme Court found Tennessee’s requirement—at the time, a
year in the State and 90 days in the county—unconstitutional. The Court held such a lengthy
requirement to be an unsupportable discrimination against new residents and so in conflict with the
14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The Supreme Court said that “30 days appears to
be an ample period of time.” Election law and practice among the States quickly accepted that
standard
Nearly every State does prohibit transients, persons living in the
State for only a short time, from gaining a legal residence there. Thus, a traveling sales agent, a
member of the armed services, or a college student usually cannot vote in a State where he or she has
only a temporary physical residence. In several States, however, the courts have held that college
students who claim the campus community as their legal residence can vote there.
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25.
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Why did the states adopt
residency requirements for citizens to vote? (pick 2)
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Other Qualifications The States have imposed a number of other qualifications over time—notably,
requirements based on literacy, tax payment, and registration. Only registration has survived as a
significant requirement.
Registration Forty-nine
States—all except North Dakota—require that most or all voters be registered to vote. Registration is a procedure of
voter identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting. It gives election officials a list of
those persons who are qualified to vote in an election. Several States also use voter registration to
identify voters in terms of their party preference and, thus, their eligibility to take part in
closed primaries.
Voter registration became a common feature of State election law in the
early 1900s. Today, most States require all voters to register in order to vote in any election held
within the State. A few do not impose the requirement for all elections, however. In Wisconsin, for
example, only those in urban areas must register to vote.10
Typically, a
prospective voter must register his or her name, age, place of birth, present address, length of
residence, and similar facts. The information is logged by a local official, usually a registrar of
elections or the county clerk. A voter typically remains registered unless or until he or she moves,
dies, is convicted of a serious crime, or is committed to a mental institution.
State law
directs local election officials to review the lists of registered voters and to remove the names of
those who are no longer eligible to vote. This process is known as purging, and it is usually supposed to
be done every two or four years. Unfortunately, the requirement is often ignored. Where it is, the poll books (the official lists of
qualified voters in each precinct) soon become clogged with the names of a great many people who, for
one reason or another, are no longer eligible to vote.
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26.
|
Once a person registers to
vote, they remain registered unless (check all that apply)
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Most people who have studied
the problem favor keeping the registration requirement as a necessary defense against fraud. However,
they also favor making the process a more convenient one. In short, they see the problem in these
terms: Where is the line between making it so easy to vote that fraud is encouraged, and making it so
difficult that legitimate voting is discouraged?
Most States have eased the registration
process over the last several years, and in 1993 Congress passed a law that required every State (but
North Dakota) to do so. That law, dubbed the “Motor Voter Law,” became effective in 1995.
It directs every State to (1) allow all eligible citizens to register to vote when they apply for or
renew a driver’s license; (2) provide for voter registration by mail; and (3) make registration
forms available at the local offices of State employment, welfare, and other social service agencies.
The Federal Election Commission reports that by 2000 some 8 million persons had registered to vote as
a direct result of the Motor Voter Law.
The law also requires every State to mail a
questionnaire to each of its registered voters every four years, so that the poll books can be purged
for deaths and changes of residence. It also forbids the States to purge for any other reason,
including failure to vote.
Maine and Wisconsin allow voters to register at any time, up to
and including election day. Elsewhere a voter must be registered by some date before an election,
often 20 or 30 days beforehand.11 That cutoff gives election
officials time to prepare the poll books for an upcoming election.
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27.
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What does the “motor
voter” process do to encourage people to register. (check all that apply)
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