L20. Political Representation in the US

Question 1

Race and franchise in the US

Answer 1

• central to the history of the franchise in the US
• In Canada the central problem is national identity, in the US it is racial identity

Question 2

Does the US use numeric or regional representation?

Answer 2

• seen as numeric but current US policies regarding race and representation are rooted in regional representation
• do regional representation is important to US race relations

Question 3

History of the franchise in the US 1800-1965

Answer 3

1788: Constitution states the 3/5 clause
- free people are whole and all others (slaves)
1870: formal right to vote
- 15th amendment
- phrased as a negative vote (you cannot be denied)
1965: Voting rights march
- Start in Selma, on March 7th (this attempt was when state troopers committed mass violence “bloody sunday”)
- galvanized white support for voting rights
- by August 6th voting rights act is passed and signed

Question 4

How where black people disenfranchised?

Answer 4

• to vote in the US, you needed to be registered to vote (no federal system doing it)
• typically done on the county level
• tests were commonly administered (literacy test that were very subjective, ‘character tests’ which were beyond subjective but highly discriminatory and continue to disenfranchise felons)
• poll tax (needed to pay a fee to register to vote, disenfranchised all poor people, and for wealthier black people they were made impossible to pay)
• “white-only” political parties: limited the ability of black people to run for office
• intimidation and violence (huge issue, remember movie clips)

Question 5

1965 Voting Rights act

Answer 5

• first time federal government had put together a large legislative for voting rights (pro-active)
• beginning to re-statement of the 15th amendment so it will be impossible for courts to shut down (in legislative form) (specifically administered to certain states and counties)

Section 3, 6-8
- removes local control
- puts federal office in charge of administering voters
Section 4
- bans tests and devices that limit the eligibility to vote
- congress could not say they were going to specifically applied to certain places

Sections above overturned in 2013
- only section 2 remains in effect
- in 1975 language is included as protected

Question 6

Was the voting rights act effective?

Answer 6

hugely!
- gap in registration between blacks and white between 1965 to 1985 went from 40% to 5%
- overall white voting decreased because many whites were registered more than once
- federalization made things more standardized and data became more accurate

Question 7

Where does the battleground move after the voting rights act was passed?

Answer 7

• the electoral system and districting
• gerrymandering becomes a real problem