Explores the history, evolution, and effects of voting rights in the United States, discussing how unpopular groups have often been denied voting rights throughout history; includes supporting materials designed to help readers understand the issues raised by voting rights.
Content Note
The strange career of voting in the United States -- The right to vote: a short history of a contested right -- Vote denial: democracy's dark secret -- Class -- Status -- Gender -- Ethnicity and race -- Early days: the courts say "no" to expanded voting rights -- The dam breaks: the fall of the all-white primary -- Interlude: victory and defeat in the lower federal courts -- The Supreme Court speaks: Baker v. Carr, Reynolds v. Sims, and the adoption of the one person/one vote standard -- The tide finally starts to turn: the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the federal courts, and the attack on race-based vote denial -- Voting rights triumph: vote dilution, redistricting, and the shift from at-large elections to single-member districts -- The tide turns (once again): Shaw v. Reno and the conservative reaction to expanded voting rights -- Equal protection or equal effect? voting rights in the twenty-first century -- The election the judges resolved: Bush v. Gore and the debate over the nationalization of voting in America -- Elk v. Wilkins -- Minor v. Happersett -- Smith v. Allwright -- Terry v. Adams -- Adams v. Terry -- Reynolds v. Sims -- Voting Rights Act of 1965 -- Allen v. State Board of Elections -- Reynolds v. Sims -- Allen v. State Board of Elections -- Shaw v. Reno -- Gore v. Harris -- Bush v. Gore.