Fifteenth Amendment: No race discrimination in voting

The Fifteenth Amendment says the vote can't be denied because of race. For almost a century states got around it with literacy tests, poll taxes, white primaries and gerrymanders. Courts and Congress gradually shut those down.

The text

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude--

Source: National Archives transcription Verified1

The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Source: National Archives transcription Verified1

History

Grandfather clauses. "One of the first devices declared unconstitutional by the Court was the 'grandfather clause'" Verified2. They let people register without a literacy test if their ancestors had voted before the amendment, which excluded Black voters Verified2.

White primaries. Texas let the Democratic Party exclude Black voters from its primary. The Court held that discrimination "practiced by a party entrusted by Texas law with the determination of the qualifications of participants in the primary" is "state action within the meaning of the Fifteenth Amendment" (Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649 (1944)) Verified3.

City boundaries. Alabama redrew Tuskegee into an "uncouth twenty-eight-sided figure." The "inevitable effect of this redefinition of Tuskegee's boundaries is to remove from the city all save four or five of its 400 Negro voters while not removing a single white voter or resident" (Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 U.S. 339 (1960)) Verified4. The Court held that it stated a Fifteenth Amendment claim.

Section 2 and the Voting Rights Act

South Carolina v. Katzenbach (1966) upheld the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as "an appropriate means for carrying out Congress' constitutional responsibilities" (South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 383 U.S. 301 (1966)) Verified5. Shelby County v. Holder (2013) held that the Act's coverage formula, which was based on voting data from the 1960s and early 1970s, "can no longer be used as a basis for subjecting jurisdictions to preclearance" (Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529 (2013)) Verified6. Other parts of the Act, including the nationwide ban on discriminatory practices, remain.

Race-based voter eligibility. Hawaii limited voting for a state agency's trustees to people of Hawaiian ancestry. "Hawaii's denial of Rice's right to vote in OHA trustee elections violates the Fifteenth Amendment" (Rice v. Cayetano, 528 U.S. 495 (2000)) Verified7.

In Williams

• Annexation and boundaries. Changing city limits to add or drop voters by race is exactly what Gomillion forbids Verified4.
• Council elections. Whether the council is elected at large or by district, the system can't be designed or maintained to dilute votes by race. California has its own statutory voting-rights law; this site hasn't verified its sections, so check the Elections Code before relying on details.

Common misconceptions

• "It guarantees everyone the right to vote." It bans only race-based denial. Other amendments cover sex (19th), poll taxes (24th) and age (26th).
• "Shelby County struck down the Voting Rights Act." It disabled the coverage formula for preclearance; the rest stands Verified6.

Check yourself

Pick an answer for each question. You will see right away if it is right, and why.