The Bill of Rights Part One

Transcription

1 Constitutional Provisions Concerning Voting and Elections Article I, Section 2 Article I, Section 3 Article II, Section 1 Election of United States Representatives Election of Senators Election of the President & Vice President Amendment 12 Amendment 14 Amendment 15 Amendment 17 Amendment 19 Amendment 23 Amendment 24 Amendment 26 Election of the President & Vice President Equal Protection of the Laws Voting Rights for Black Men Direct Election of Senators Voting Rights for Women Electoral Votes for the District of Columbia Banning the Poll Tax Voting Rights for Young Adults Also, see the following links: The Bill of Rights Part One The Bill of Rights Part Two

2 Additional Resources Concerning The United States Constitution, Elections and, Voting College Students and Voting Time Article The U.S. Constitution & Amendments Dates to Remember The U.S. Constitution & Amendments: The U.S. Constitution Constitution Day Survey The Bill of Rights Part One The Bill of Rights Part Two Selected Bibliography Amar, Akhil Reed. The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction. New Haven: Yale University Press, Amar, Akhil Reed, and Alan Hirsch. For the People What the Constitution Really About Your Rights. New York: Free Press, Bailyn, Bernard, ed. The Debate on the Constitution. New York: Library of America, Monk, Linda R. The Words we live by: your annotated guide to the constitution. New York: The Stonesong Press, 2004.

3 Importance of Voting The only way to preserve the government of the people, by the people, for the people that President Abraham Lincoln described in the Gettysburg Address is for the people to participate in election of that government. The people that Lincoln was talking about includes each one of us. Voting is not an every four year event when the hoopla of a presidential election stirs voters interest. The down ballot and off-year elections are very important as well. These are the elections that govern everything from potholes to education to parks to environmental protection to public safety issues that have an everyday impact on our lives and deserve our attention. Not too many years ago, people were willing to risk their lives to secure the right to vote. It is a privilege we cannot take for granted. It was not until 1918 that women were allowed to vote. Eighteen year olds have only been able to vote since The very close Bush v. Gore presidential election in 2000 showed us clearly that each vote can make a difference. Voting is the cornerstone of democracy. We cannot waste this hard-won privilege if we want to preserve government of the people, by the people, for the people.

4 Things to Remember on Voting: Register to Vote Deadline-October 5, 2009 Early Voting Starts October 19, 2009 Last Date for Early Voting October 30, 2009 General Election Day November 3, 2009 For more information on voting and to locate your Harris County polling location go to: click on Voter Registration Voting is the RIGHT thing to Do..

5 VOTER REGISTRATION To: All University of Houston Students From: Dr. William F. Munson; Associate Vice Chancellor/Associate Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students Subject: Voter Registration State of Texas Constitutional Amendment and Local Elections On Tuesday, November 3, 2009, voting on eleven State of Texas Constitutional Amendments and voting in local elections will take place. Voting is an important benefit of United States citizenship and to assist you in exercising your right to vote, UH is making voter registration forms available to you on campus in the Student Information and Assistance Center and the Dean of Students Office located in the University Center, at the Towers and Oberholtzer service desks located in the residence halls, and at the Bayou Oaks, Calhoun Lofts, Cambridge Oaks, and Cullen Oaks management offices. Voter registration forms can also be requested online through the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector s Office at Please be aware that the deadline to register to vote for the State of Texas Constitutional Amendments and for voting in local elections is Monday, October 5, The early voting period for this fall s elections commences on Monday, October 19, 2009 and ends on Friday, October 30, Students who reside in counties other than Harris County may wish to contact the tax assessor/collector s office in their home county to facilitate registration or early voting. The following is a partial listing of tax assessor/collectors websites in surrounding counties: Brazoria County Chambers County Fort Bend County Galveston County Montgomery County

6 Four Things You Should Know About Proposition Four On Nov. 3, 2009, Texas voters will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment that will dramatically affect higher education in our state. Basically, Proposition Four makes existing funds available as a pathway for seven state schools to become Tier One research universities. The ballot language calls for establishing: the national research university fund to enable emerging research universities in this state to achieve national prominence as major research universities and transferring the balance of the higher education fund to the national research university fund. To cast an informed vote, here are four things that are important to understand: Texas has only 3 Tier One universities while California has 9 and New York 7. Tier One institutions have tremendous economic impact, with research expenditures resulting in a 200 percent return on investment. Texas loses $3.7 billion a year and thousands of our academically gifted high school students who leave for out-of-state colleges because we do not have a comparable number of Tier One schools. Creation of the National Research University Fund (NRUF) does not call for any taxes to be levied or bonds to be issued. Money in the dormant Higher Education Fund plus any money added in future years will become the NRUF. To qualify for NRUF funding, the seven schools UH, Texas Tech, UT- Arlington, UT-Dallas, UT-San Antonio, UT-El Paso and the University of North Texas will each have to meet rigorous benchmarks determined by the Legislature and Higher Education Coordinating Board. Criteria include the amount of research expenditures, the number of Ph.D degrees awarded and endowment levels. The enabling legislation behind Proposition 4 received unanimous bipartisan support in the Texas Legislature and has been applauded by major newspapers (Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News) and civic leaders (former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby and the Greater Houston Partnership).