Long Lines to Vote Are Unconstitutional
Long Lines to Vote Are Unconstitutional
December 11, 2020
If there is one enduring legacy of American democracy, it is a profound commitment to preventing people from voting. Under the Constitution, state governments are given wide leeway to regulate the “Times, Places, and Manner,” of Elections for Senators and Representatives, subject to Congressional regulation, and unmitigated discretion with which to regulate the selection of electors for president. The result of these clauses is that legislation regulating the administration of elections is almost exclusively under the province of the states. Historically, state governments have used this power to systematically disenfranchise citizens with property requirements and blatant sex and racial discrimination, the last of which was enshrined in law until the 1960s. Today, many states continue to disenfranchise people with mental disabilities and incarcerated people. A far more mundane ba