Freeps say folks should pass a test to vote. They blame the voters

bigtree

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Thu Oct-28-04 01:16 AM
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Freeps say folks should pass a test to vote. They blame the voters

They blame the voters for the mistakes and obstacles of the system. Past case law rightly puts most of the burden on the system, not on the voter:

Guinn v. United States, 238 U.S. 347 (1915):
The Court in this case considered the constitutionality of an amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution, which established a literacy test as a condition for registering to vote or for voting, but exempted from the requirement people who had been entitled to vote before January 1, 1866, or their lineal descendants (known generally as a grandfather clause). The Court found that there could be no reason for the grandfather clause other than to create a standard of voting that revitalized conditions existing prior to the adoption of the 15th Amendment. Thus, it was void under the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. The Court also held that the literacy test itself was so connected to the grandfather clause that the unconstitutionality of the latter rendered the entire amendment invalid. (Grandfather Clause- http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/scripts/jimcrow/glossary.cgi?searchtype=term&term=grandfather%20clause)

Nixon v. Herndon, 273 U.S. 536 (1927):
The Supreme Court in this case held unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment a Texas statute that barred blacks from voting in Democratic Party primary elections. Although the statute was challenged under both the 14th and 15th Amendments, the Court did not consider the 15th Amendment claim because it found it �hard to imagine a more direct and obvious infringement of the Fourteenth Amendment.� (White Primary- http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/scripts/jimcrow/glossary.cgi?searchtype=term&term=white%20primary)

Grovey v. Townsend, 295 U.S. 45 (l935), overruled by Smith v. Allwright, Election Judge, 321 U.S. 649 (1944):
In this case, the Court upheld a resolution adopted by the Texas Democratic Party at its state convention that restricted membership in the party and participation in its deliberations to white citizens of Texas. Based on this resolution, the black plaintiff was denied a ballot in the primary election. The Supreme Court held that action by the party�s state convention was not state action under the 14th or 15th Amendments, and denial of the right to vote in a primary, versus a general election, was merely refusal of party membership and did not violate the Constitution.

Breedlove v. Suttles, Tax Collector, 302 U.S. 277 (1937), overruled by Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 (1966):
This case considered the constitutionality of a Georgia poll tax of $1, which applied to all inhabitants of the state between the ages of 21 and 60, but not to blind persons or to women who did not register to vote. Payment of the tax was required in order to register and vote in any election. A white male challenged the statute as unconstitutional under the equal protection and privileges and immunities clauses of the 14th Amendment and the 19th Amendment. The Court upheld the poll tax and found it violated neither the 14th nor the 19th Amendments.

http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/msdelta/ch3.htm

Why is this generation willing to revive so many of the past obstacles to voting, and even create some new ones?