Whacky with the truthiness
Posted by: SayUncleThere are people over at Music City Bloggers seriously arguing in comments that the Constitution does not guarantee anyone the right to vote. OK, then.
Then, err, find it in the constitution for me. I’m sure it’s right there beside the right to privacy, near the section that guarantees the right of the state to bear arms, just above the right to free health care for everybody. I’ll spare you the search, the right to vote is not enumerated in the constitution. That is, however, not to say there is no right to vote. Rather, it’s just not an enumerated right:
The Constitution contains many phrases, clauses, and amendments detailing ways people cannot be denied the right to vote. You cannot deny the right to vote because of race or gender. Citizens of Washington DC can vote for President; 18-year-olds can vote; you can vote even if you fail to pay a poll tax. The Constitution also requires that anyone who can vote for the “most numerous branch” of their state legislature can vote for House members and Senate members.
Note that in all of this, though, the Constitution never explicitly ensures the right to vote, as it does the right to speech, for example.
Like privacy, voting is one of those unenumerated rights.
Update: BTW, we require ID for all sorts of things (including civil rights). Why is voting different?
Another update: BTW, here’s an interesting list of things not in the constitution.
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