Today we face an attack on voting rights, with at least 28 states putting restrictions on voting. It may seem strange but the original Constitution of 1787 does not mention the right to vote; it merely states that anyone eligible to vote for the largest house of a state’s legislature is also eligible to vote for members of the House of Representatives from that state. States set the requirements to vote.
Generally, only white men who held property were eligible, except in New Jersey where free Black men and women who held property were also eligible to vote, revoked in 1807. Gradually states eliminated property restrictions. The 15th Amendment extended voting to Black males, the 19th to women, and the 26th to persons 18 and over.
The 2013 Supreme Court holding in Shelby gutted many protections under the Civil Rights Act, and it’s only gotten worse. The right to vote is essential to democracy. What is it that certain politicians fear about any U.S. citizen voting? Obviously, that they will lose power.
Prayer for the Day
Caught in old beyond boundaries of black and white,
Move us, O God, into the gray wash of everyday life;
Push us beyond the security of the center into the margins,
So we look outward rather than inward.
Give us the courage to oppose injustice where we see it,
Standing for true justice for all in our Nation.
In the name of the One who calls us to do justice,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by human beings for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison people because they are different from others.
Lyndon Johnson, President (1908-1973)
Every citizen of this country should be guaranteed that their vote matters, that their vote is counted, and that in the voting booth, their vote has as much weight as that of any CEO, any member of Congress or any President.
Barbara Boxer, former U.S. Representative and Senator
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble,
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9: 9-10