Replies

Sorry pal. You're wrong. Or you are right and the Supreme Court and other federal courts are wrong. I am going to have to side with the courts on this one.

Maybe you would be interested in doing some reading.

Snip... The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly guarantee a right to vote, and our federal courts currently read the document not to include it. ...end snip

From "You have no right to vote", http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/09/21/no_right_to_vote/

Snip... Most Americans believe that the "legal right to vote" in our democracy is explicit (not just implicit) in our Constitution and laws. However, our Constitution only provides for non-discrimination in voting on the basis of race, sex, and age in the 15th, 19th and 26th Amendments respectively.

The U.S. Constitution contains no explicit affirmative individual right to vote! ...end snip

From "FIGHTING FOR A RIGHT TO VOTE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT" from The Center for Voting and Democracy. http://www.fairvote.org/articles/jessejr.htm

If the Constitution already has a "right to vote" guarantee in it, why would HJ Res 28, a proposal to amend the Constitution to add a "right to vote" be needed?

Would you like more?

From "ReclaimDemocracy.org", Why we need a Constitutional right to vote...

snip... As thousands of civil rights advocates celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in Atlanta last weekend, most media coverage conveyed the Act's importance in protecting minorities' political rights. Yet many of those same stories helped perpetuate a dangerous illusion by asserting that a right to vote is guaranteed by the 15th Amendment.

The trouble is the Supreme Court doesn't see it that way.

In its 2000 ruling, Alexander v Mineta, the Court decided the 600,000 or so (mostly black) residents of Washington D.C. have no legal recourse for their complete lack of voting representation in Congress (they have one “representative” in the House who can speak, but cannot vote). The Court affirmed the district court's interpretation that our Constitution "does not protect the right of all citizens to vote, but rather the right of all qualified citizens to vote.” And it's state legislatures that wield the power to decide who is “qualified.”

As a result, voting is not a right, but a privilege granted or withheld at the discretion of local and state governments. ...end snip

Here is your link... http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/political_reform/right_to_vote.html

Shall I continue?

From "The Nation"...

snip... "The vote" is a human right. It is seen as an American right. In a democracy there is nothing more fundamental than having the right to vote.

And yet the right to vote is not a fundamental right in our Constitution." ...end snip

Here is your link, http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060206/jackson