Resources

The following is our recommended list of Resources. Our list compiles select writings by leading academics, organizers, journalists, and litigators on topics relevant to the Right to Vote Initiative, including right-to-vote amendment language and the history of the right to vote and race.  We also feature webinars and other up-to-date resources.

By Katrina vanden Heuvel | October 17, 2016

Stopping The GOP Assault On Democracy Wash. Post, Aug. 21, 2012

The Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel discusses the right-to-vote amendment:

“The outlines of a stimulus package for our democracy might start with universal voter registration, guaranteeing that every eligible American can get access to a ballot, along with a constitutional amendment protecting the right to vote.  We could finally replace the Electoral College with a national popular vote, in the spirit of the Seventeenth Amendment that provided for the direct election of senators.”

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By Heather Gerken | October 17, 2016

The Missing Right to Vote: What We’d Get From Amending The Constitution To Guarantee It Slate (June 14, 2012, 7:29 AM)

Professor Heather Gerken identifies at least one gain from a right-to-vote amendment:

“What an amendment would do is help the courts do a better job doing what they are doing now.  For better or for worse (and probably for worse), the courts have become the de facto referees of election disputes. It’s the Star Wars problem. Like Obi-Wan Kenobi, they are our only hope, the only ones (outside of self-interested politicians) who can step in. But while courts inevitably must resolve these cases, they lack the tools to do so.”

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By Heather Gerken | October 17, 2016

The Right to Vote: Is The Amendment Game Worth The Candle? 23 Wm. & Mary Bill Rts J. 11 (2014)

Professor Heather Gerken evaluates arguments for and against the right-to-vote amendment, concluding:

“It would be wonderful if the Constitution included a robust right to vote.  But given how few resources we have to fight the good fight, I would rather see them directed toward discrete projects with concrete payoffs . . . .  Targeted litigating and politicking seem more likely to bring about the desired results than a full-fledged social movement.”

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By Joshua Fields | October 17, 2016

Creating a Federal Right to Vote Center for American Progress, (June 25, 2013)

Joshua Fields of the Center for American Progress argues for a right-to-vote amendment:

“[A] campaign for a right-to-vote amendment could provide needed attention and focus on the voting rights issues that face our nation.  Our right to vote is not guaranteed; once Americans learn this, maybe they will take action to change it.”

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By Garrett Epps | October 17, 2016

What Does The Constitution Actually Say About Voting Rights? Or, How The Shelby Ruling Is Like Starving A Dog To Death The Atlantic, Aug. 19, 2013

Professor Garrett Epps examines the text of the Constitution:

“The right to vote of citizens of the United States remains a kind of stepchild in the family of American rights, perhaps because it is not listed in the Bill of Rights, and perhaps because Americans still retain the Framers’ ambivalence about democracy.”

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