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Does my vote matter?  This student-created podcast examines partisanship shifts in their community, the proposed State of Jefferson, and why Puerto Rico is part of the United States. Still, Puerto Ricans aren't allowed to vote in US elections.  Pair with a facilitated student discussion around their observations concerning partisanship in their local community or a deeper dive into voter suppression and its effects on the people of Puerto Rico and he US as a whole.

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PODCAST: Does My Vote Matter- Student Reporting **

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PODCAST: Does My Vote Matter- Student Reporting **

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How much power does your vote have? What if you’re a conservative and live in a blue state? Or a liberal and live in a red state? Or what if you’re from a U.S. territory, like Puerto Rico, and don’t have full voting rights? Students explore these questions and why, no matter what, you should […]

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A short but concise overview of voter disenfranchisment policies, how they differ from state to state, and their impact on voter participation and election outcomes today. Students are assigned a state to look at felony voting rights in that state. The class can discuss how election outcomes might look different if felons could vote and whether it is fair that felons can be president but can't vote for president. (Note: This may be a sensitive issue for students whose lives are currently impacted by the incarceration of a loved one).

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Simple Civics
In most states, a felony conviction means you lose your right to vote; and in some cases, you could lose your right to vote permanently, even after you've served your time. As a result, roughly 4.6 million Americans - including 1 in 10 Black adults - cannot legally vote, which has led to costly confusion for those whose sentence has been served. Should our laws be changed to restore these rights?

Aired: 10/05/23

Rating: NR

Problems Playing Video? Report a Problem |

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Simple Civics | Felony Voting Rights | PBS

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In many states a felony conviction means you lose your right to vote, sometimes forever.

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Audio recording of telephone conversation between LBJ and MLK. The site also includes an extensive archival collection of President Lyndon B. Johnson's tenure as President of the United States. Archives related to the passing of the Voting Rights Act include telephone recordings and telegraph communication between Dr. Martin Luther King (and others) and President Johnson discussing the urgent needs and challenges occurring during the Freedom Summer Voter Rights Drives. Activities could include students creating a text message from conveying the message and agendas in the archive or a current-day text message from MLK to the current President. From the students themselves to the current US President, outline why voter rights matter.

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An extensive collection of archival materials as well as more recent interviews and recordings of conferences discussing the historical context and legacy of the Student Non-Violent Cordianting Committee (SNCC). Also, it links to many other relevant civil rights organizations, including CORE and the NAACP, that were also instrumental in the Freedom Summer voter registration drives. Students compare and contrast the missions, campaigns, and achievements of the SNCC, the CORE, and the NAACP via a Venn diagram.

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Civil Rights Movement Veterans Website (crmvet)

The Civil Rights Movement Veterans website is a non-commercial educational resource for students, academics, researchers, and people of all kinds who wish to learn more about the civil rights movement from the point of view of those who were a part of it. Features documents, photographs, and remembrances that emphasize the central role ordinary people played in transforming their lives through extraordinary courage.

Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS)

Freedom Summer Digital Collection

The Freedom Summer Digital Collection contains over 30,000 pages of official records of organizations, personal papers of Movement leaders, letters, racist propaganda, diaries, images, and newsletters documenting the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964. Featured collections include the Amzie Moore papers, Ella Baker papers, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party papers, and more.

Duke University

SNCC Collections

Digitized civil rights collections at Duke include the Joseph Sinsheimer Papers, which features oral history interviews with activists from the Mississippi Movement; the SNCC 40th Anniversary Tapes, which document the SNCC 40th anniversary conference in 2000 at Shaw University; and the Faith Holseart Papers, which contain documents and correspondence related to SNCC's organizing in Southwest Georgia; and the Judy Richardson Papers, which include materials regarding the SNCC national office and its organizing work in the Deep South.

Library of Congress (LOC)

Civil Rights History Project

The Civil Rights History Project features video-recorded oral history interviews and transcripts with activists who participated in the struggle to obtain justice, freedom, and equality for African Americans. Interviews record recollections of a wide variety of topics within the civil rights movement, such as the influence of the labor movement, nonviolence and self-defense, religious faith, music, and the experiences of young activists. Many interviewees participated in national organizations, such as the NAACP, SNCC and CORE, and the interviews cover a broad geographical area.

University of Southern Mississippi (USM)

Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive

The Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive includes digitized photographs, oral history transcripts and audio, letters, diaries, and other documents focusing on local struggles for civil rights in Mississippi. Featured collections include Herbert Randall Freedom Summer photograph collection and an extensive selection of oral history interviews by USM's Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage.

Trinity College

1988 SNCC Conference "We Shall Not Be Moved"

A ten-part series of videorecordings of a conference held at Trinity College, Hartford, CT, Apr. 14 - 16, 1988, titled, "We Shall Note Be Moved: The Life and Times of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, 1960 - 1966."

Washington University

Eyes on the Prize Interviews

Eyes on the Prize is a 14-part series, which debuted on PBS stations in 1985 and 1988 and is considered to be the definitive documentary on the Civil Rights Movement. The Eyes on the Prize collection contains footage and transcripts of the interviews conducted by Blackside, including sections which appeared in the final program and the outtakes.

Take Stock

Take Stock features images made by activist photographers dedicated personally to the cause of social justice, including Matt Herron, George Ballis, and Maria Varela. The Civil Rights Collection contains some 27,000 images taken by several photographers in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia in the mid-sixties. The collection includes movement photography, photojournalism, and social documentary photography.

Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH)

Jim Peppler Southern Courier Photograph Collection

The Jim Peppler Southern Courier Photograph Collection contains 11,000 photographs documenting the civil rights movement and social conditions in Central Alabama. Jim Peppler was a staff photographer of The Southern Courier, a weekly paper based in Montgomery that sought to provide objective reporting on civil rights and social issues.

Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH)

Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Records

The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Records contains approximately 133,000 pages of material from Mississippi's official counter civil rights agency from 1956-1973. Material includes investigative reports, correspondence, speeches, and a large amount of published material.

Stanford University

KZSU Project South Interviews

The KZSU Project South Interviews are a collection of transcribed meetings and interviews with civil rights workers and local activists in the South recorded by several Stanford students affiliated with the campus radio station KZSU during the summer of 1965. Includes interviews of members of CORE, the MFDP, the NAACP, SCLC, and SNCC; transcripts of formal and informal remarks of persons working with smaller, independent civil rights projects, of local Blacks associated with the Movement, and other people, including Ku Klux Klansmen; and transcribed action tapes of civil rights workers canvassing voters, conducting freedom schools, or participating in demonstrations.

University of Florida

Mississippi Freedom Project

The Mississippi Freedom Project (MFP) is an award-winning archive of 200+ oral history interviews conducted by the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida with veterans of the civil rights movement and notable residents of the Mississippi and the Mississippi Delta including individuals such as Lawrence Guyot, Margaret Block, Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons, John Due, and many others. A substantial part of the collection centers on activism and organizing in partnership with the Sunflower County Civil Rights Organization in Sunflower, Mississippi and includes the oral history booklet, "I will Never Forget: Memories from Mississippi Freedom Summer," in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer in Indianola.

University of Georgia

Civil Rights Digital Library

The Civil Rights Digital Library promotes an enhanced understanding of the Movement by helping users discover primary sources and other educational material from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and others on a national scale. Includes a digital video archive of historical news film and serves as a civil rights portal by connecting related digital collections.

McComb Legacies

The McComb Legacies website shares the history of McComb, MS, with an emphasis on the stories of working people of all races, women, and young people and how they have strived for equity in labor, civics, education, economics, and the arts. The site is designed by students with an emphasis on oral histories conducted by students in an effort to understand, preserve, and share their local history.

More Digital Sources
Mapping the Freedom Summer University of North Carolina, Southern Oral History Program Collection Brown University, Choices Program, Civil Rights Southern Courier Archives Jackson State University, Fannie Lou Hamer Institute @ COFO, A Voice That Could Stir an Army: Fannie Lou Hamer and the Rhetoric of the Black Freedom Movement National Visionary Leadership Project

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Digital Primary Sources - SNCC Digital Gateway

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The Civil Rights Movement Veterans website is a non-commercial educational resource for students, academics, researchers, and people of all kinds who wish to learn more about the civil rights movement from the point of view of those who were a part of it.

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Extensive collections of materials include images, documents, and other ephemera, as well as teacher resources, including lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations. Students can utilize to examine primary source materials from Freedom Summer.

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What Was the 1964 Freedom Summer Project?
Freedom Summer was an effort by civil rights activists to integrate Mississippi's segregated political system. Northern volunteers and black Mississippians risked their lives to overturn racist institutions.
READ MORE >

Access over 40,000 pages of official records of organizations, personal papers of movement leaders, letters, racist propaganda, diaries, images, newsletters and more.
Browse Here

Users of Freedom Summer documents are responsible for obeying the U.S. Copyright Law. We share the documents strictly for nonprofit educational purposes and believe this conforms to fair use under the copyright law.

Copyright resides with the individuals who created the documents or the organizations for which they worked. The principal organizations have been defunct for many years and copyright to their unpublished records is uncertain.

We have attempted to contact individuals who created personal papers of significant length or importance. Nearly all have generously permitted us to include their work. If you believe that you possess copyright to material we have reproduced, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org

Teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Individual researchers may download them for private consultation. Other reproduction, especially for commercial use, may violate the U.S. Copyright Law and requires prior permission.

Finding Aids for the Freedom Summer Collections
Type in search terms such as Freedom Summer, SNCC, CORE, Mississippi, or voting rights to see finding aids about the manuscript collections featured in the Freedom Summer Digital Collection. Each offers a quick overview and a variety of ways to view its full contents.

Library Catalog
Search by keyword to find materials in the Freedom Summer collections located in the Archives at the Society.

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1964 Freedom Summer Project | Wisconsin Historical Society

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What Was the 1964 Freedom Summer Project? Freedom Summer was an effort by civil rights activists to integrate Mississippi's segregated political system. Northern volunteers and black Mississippians risked their lives to overturn racist institutions. READ MORE > Access over 40,000 pages of official records of organizations, personal papers of movement leaders, letters, racist propaganda, diaries, images, newsletters and more.

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Rock the Vote youth vote campaign organization utilizes athletes to encourage young people to engage in the democratic process by registering to vote and casting their ballot to ensure their voice is heard. Students could debate whether sports and politics should mix. Alternatively, students could identify how athletes use their voices to promote voter participation or comment on politics. Rock the Vote was initially an organization tapping musicians to encourage youth voting and is now using athletes. is there an intersection? Connected current athletes and musicians actions to encourage voting rights to those of Freedom Summer.

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Athletes Rock the Vote - Civic Education - Rock the Vote

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Democracy Class is a free, nonpartisan curriculum that educates high school students about the importance and history of voting.

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The film is set in Mississippi during Freedom Summer, telling the story of three murdered youths who volunteered to register black voters in the Jim Crow south: Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Micheal Schwermer. Pair with archival biographical information about the young men on the Andrew Goodman Foundation site and Wisconsin Historical Society to gain insight into why these three young men chose to volunteer and what the positive legacy is of the work of the Freedom Summer volunteers that we still see today, sharing at least three of those things.

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Archive: National Archives - Voting Rights Act *

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Archive: National Archives - Voting Rights Act *

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This collection of the National Archives includes numerous primary source documents, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Students can utilize the archive to locate primary source material, and it could also be utilized as a discussion prompt: What would be the impact of the National Archives being eliminated?

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Transcript

AN ACT To enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act shall be known as the "Voting Rights Act of 1965."

SEC. 2. No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.

SEC. 3. (a) Whenever the Attorney General institutes a proceeding under any statute to enforce the guarantees of the fifteenth amendment in any State or political subdivision the court shall authorize the appointment of Federal examiners by the United States Civil Service Commission in accordance with section 6 to serve for such period of time and for such political subdivisions as the court shall determine is appropriate to enforce the guarantees of the fifteenth amendment (1) as part of any interlocutory order if the court determines that the appointment of such examiners is necessary to enforce such guarantees or (2) as part of any final judgment if the court finds that violations of the fifteenth amendment justifying equitable relief have occurred in such State or subdivision: Provided, That the court need not authorize the appointment of examiners if any incidents of denial or abridgement of the right to vote on account of race or color (1) have been few in number and have been promptly and effectively corrected by State or local action, (2) the continuing effect of such incidents has been eliminated, and (3) there is no reasonable probability of their recurrence in the future.

(b) If in a proceeding instituted by the Attorney General under any statute to enforce the guarantees of the fifteenth amendment in any State or political subdivision the court finds that a test or device has been used for the purpose or with the effect of denying or abridging the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color, it shall suspend the use of tests and devices in such State or political subdivisions as the court shall determine is appropriate and for such period as it deems necessary.

(c) If in any proceeding instituted by the Attorney General under any statute to enforce the guarantees of the fifteenth amendment in any State or political subdivision the court finds that violations of the fifteenth amendment justifying equitable relief have occurred within the territory of such State or political subdivision, the court, in addition to such relief as it may grant, shall retain jurisdiction for such period as it may deem appropriate and during such period no voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting different from that in force or effect at the time the proceeding was commenced shall be enforced unless and until the court finds that such qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure does not have the purpose and will not have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color: Provided, That such qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure may be enforced if the qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure has been submitted by the chief legal officer or other appropriate official of such State or subdivision to the Attorney General and the Attorney General has not interposed an objection within sixty days after such submission, except that neither the court's finding nor the Attorney General's failure to object shall bar a subsequent action to enjoin enforcement of such qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure.

SEC. 4. (a) To assure that the right of citizens of the United States to vote is not denied or abridged on account of race or color, no citizen shall be denied the right to vote in any Federal, State, or local election because of his failure to comply with any test or device in any State with respect to which the determinations have been made under subsection (b) or in any political subdivision with respect to which such determinations have been made as a separate unit, unless the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in an action for a declaratory judgment brought by such State or subdivision against the United States has determined that no such test or device has been used during the five years preceding the filing of the action for the purpose or with the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color: Provided, That no such declaratory judgment shall issue with respect to any plaintiff for a period of five years after the entry of a final judgment of any court of the United States, other than the denial of a declaratory judgment under this section, whether entered prior to or after the enactment of this Act, determining that denials or abridgments of the right to vote on account of race or color through the use of such tests or devices have occurred anywhere in the territory of such plaintiff. An action pursuant to this subsection shall be heard and determined by a court of three judges in accordance with the provisions of section 2284 of title 28 of the United States Code and any appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court. The court shall retain jurisdiction of any action pursuant to this subsection for five years after judgment and shall reopen the action upon motion of the Attorney General alleging that a test or device has been used for the purpose or with the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color.

If the Attorney General determines that he has no reason to believe that any such test or device has been used during the five years preceding the filing of the action for the purpose or with the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color, he shall consent to the entry of such judgment

(b) The provisions of subsection (a) shall apply in any State or in any political subdivision of a state which (1) the Attorney General determines maintained on November 1, 1964, any test or device, and with respect to which (2) the Director of the Census determines that less than 50 percentum of the persons of voting age residing therein were registered on November 1, 1964, or that less than 50 percentum of such persons voted in the presidential election of November 1964.

A determination or certification of the Attorney General or of the Director of the Census under this section or under section 6 or section 13 shall not be reviewable in any court and shall be effective upon publication in the Federal Register.

(c) The phrase "test or device" shall mean any requirement that a person as a prerequisite for voting or registration for voting (1) demonstrate the ability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter, (2) demonstrate any educational achievement or his knowledge of any particular subject, (3) possess good moral character, or (4) prove his qualifications by the voucher of registered voters or members of any other class.

(d) For purposes of this section no State or political subdivision shall be determined to have engaged in the use of tests or devices for the purpose or with the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color if (1) incidents of such use have been few in number and have been promptly and effectively corrected by State or local action, (2) the continuing effect of such incidents has been eliminated, and (3) there is no reasonable probability of their recurrence in the future.

(e)
(1) Congress hereby declares that to secure the rights under the fourteenth amendment of persons educated in American-flag schools in which the predominant classroom language was other than English, it is necessary to prohibit the States from conditioning the right to vote of such persons on ability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter in the English language.
(2) No person who demonstrates that he has successfully completed the sixth primary grade in a public school in, or a private school accredited by, any State or territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in which the predominant classroom language was other than English, shall be denied the right to vote in any Federal, State, or local election because of his inability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter in the English language, except that, in States in which State law provides that a different level of education is presumptive of literacy, he shall demonstrate that he has successfully completed an equivalent level of education in a public school in, or a private school accredited by, any State or territory, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in which the predominant classroom language was other than English.

SEC. 5. Whenever a State or political subdivision with respect to which the prohibitions set forth in section 4(a) are in effect shall enact or seek to administer any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting different from that in force or effect on November 1, 1964, such State or subdivision may institute an action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for a declaratory judgment that such qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure does not have the purpose and will not have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color, and unless and until the court enters such judgment no person shall be denied the right to vote for failure to comply with such qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure: Provided, That such qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure may be enforced without such proceeding if the qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure has been submitted by the chief legal officer or other appropriate official of such State or subdivision to the Attorney General and the Attorney General has not interposed an objection within sixty days after such submission, except that neither the Attorney General's failure to object nor a declaratory judgment entered under this section shall bar a subsequent action to enjoin enforcement of such qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure. Any action under this section shall be heard and determined by a court of three judges in accordance with the provisions of section 2284 of title 28 of the United States Code and any appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court.

SEC. 6. Whenever (a) a court has authorized the appointment of examiners pursuant to the provisions of section 3(a), or (b) unless a declaratory judgment has been rendered under section 4(a), the Attorney General certifies with respect to any political subdivision named in, or included within the scope of, determinations made under section 4(b) that (1) he has received complaints in writing from twenty or more residents of such political subdivision alleging that they have been denied the right to vote under color of law on account of race or color, and that he believes such complaints to be meritorious, or (2) that, in his judgment (considering, among other factors, whether the ratio of nonwhite persons to white persons registered to vote within such subdivision appears to him to be reasonably attributable to violations of the fifteenth amendment or whether substantial evidence exists that bona fide efforts are being made within such subdivision to comply with the fifteenth amendment), the appointment of examiners is otherwise necessary to enforce the guarantees of the fifteenth amendment, the Civil Service Commission shall appoint as many examiners for such subdivision as it may deem appropriate to prepare and maintain lists of persons eligible to vote in Federal, State, and local elections. Such examiners, hearing officers provided for in section 9(a), and other persons deemed necessary by the Commission to carry out the provisions and purposes of this Act shall be appointed, compensated, and separated without regard to the provisions of any statute administered by the Civil Service Commission, and service under this Act shall not be considered employment for the purposes of any statute administered by the Civil Service Commission, except the provisions of section 9 of the Act of August 2, 1939, as amended (5 U.S.C. 118i), prohibiting partisan political activity: Provided, That the Commission is authorized, after consulting the head of the appropriate department or agency, to designate suitable persons in the official service of the United States, with their consent, to serve in these positions. Examiners and hearing officers shall have the power to administer oaths.

SEC. 7. (a) The examiners for each political subdivision shall, at such places as the Civil Service Commission shall by regulation designate, examine applicants concerning their qualifications for voting. An application to an examiner shall be in such form as the Commission may require and shall contain allegations that the applicant is not otherwise registered to vote.

(b) Any person whom the examiner finds, in accordance with instructions received under section 9(b), to have the qualifications prescribed by State law not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States shall promptly be placed on a list of eligible voters. A challenge to such listing may be made in accordance with section 9(a) and shall not be the basis for a prosecution under section 12 of this Act. The examiner shall certify and transmit such list, and any supplements as appropriate, at least once a month, to the offices of the appropriate election officials, with copies to the Attorney General and the attorney general of the State, and any such lists and supplements thereto transmitted during the month shall be available for public inspection on the last business day of the month and, in any event, not later than the forty-fifth day prior to any election. The appropriate State or local election official shall place such names on the official voting list. Any person whose name appears on the examiner's list shall be entitled and allowed to vote in the election district of his residence unless and until the appropriate election officials shall have been notified that such person has been removed from such list in accordance with subsection (d): Provided, That no person shall be entitled to vote in any election by virtue of this Act unless his name shall have been certified and transmitted on such a list to the offices of the appropriate election officials at least forty-five days prior to such election.

(c) The examiner shall issue to each person whose name appears on such a list a certificate evidencing his eligibility to vote.

(d) A person whose name appears on such a list shall be removed therefrom by an examiner if (1) such person has been successfully challenged in accordance with the procedure prescribed in section 9, or (2) he has been determined by an examiner to have lost his eligibility to vote under State law not inconsistent with the Constitution and the laws of the United States.

Sec. 8. Whenever an examiner is serving under this Act in any political subdivision, the Civil Service Commission may assign, at the request of the Attorney General, one or more persons, who may be officers of the United States, (1) to enter and attend at any place for holding an election in such subdivision for the purpose of observing whether persons who are entitled to vote are being permitted to vote, and (2) to enter and attend at any place for tabulating the votes cast at any election held in such subdivision for the purpose of observing whether votes cast by persons entitled to vote are being properly tabulated. Such persons so assigned shall report to an examiner appointed for such political subdivision, to the Attorney General, and if the appointment of examiners has been authorized pursuant to section 3(a), to the court. SEC. 9.

(a) Any challenge to a listing on an eligibility list prepared by an examiner shall be heard and determined by a hearing officer appointed by and responsible to the Civil Service Commission and under such rules as the Commission shall by regulation prescribe. Such challenge shall be entertained only if filed at such office within the State as the Civil Service Commission shall by regulation designate, and within ten days after the listing of the challenged person is made available for public inspection, and if supported by (1) the affidavits of at least two persons having personal knowledge of the facts constituting grounds for the challenge, and (2) a certification that a copy of the challenge and affidavits have been served by mail or in person upon the person challenged at his place of residence set out in the application. Such challenge shall be determined within fifteen days after it has been filed. A petition for review of the decision of the hearing officer may be filed in the United States court of appeals for the circuit in which the person challenged resides within fifteen days after service of such decision by mail on the person petitioning for review but no decision of a hearing officer shall be reversed unless clearly erroneous. Any person listed shall be entitled and allowed to vote pending final determination by the hearing officer and by the court.

(b) The times, places, procedures, and form for application and listing pursuant to this Act and removals from the eligibility lists shall be prescribed by regulations promulgated by the Civil Service Commission and the Commission shall, after consultation with the Attorney General, instruct examiners concerning applicable State law not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States with respect to (1) the qualifications required for listing, and (2) loss of eligibility to vote.

(c) Upon the request of the applicant or the challenger or on its own motion the Civil Service Commission shall have the power to require by subpoena the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of documentary evidence relating to any matter pending before it under the authority of this section. In case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena, any district court of the United States or the United States court of any territory or possession, or the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia, within the jurisdiction of which said person guilty of contumacy or refusal to obey is found or resides or is domiciled or transacts business, or has appointed an agent for receipt of service of process, upon application by the Attorney General of the United States shall have jurisdiction to issue to such person an order requiring such person to appear before the Commission or a hearing officer, there to produce pertinent, relevant, and nonprivileged documentary evidence if so ordered, or there to give testimony touching the matter under investigation, and any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by said court as a contempt thereof.

SEC. 10. (a) The Congress finds that the requirement of the payment of a poll tax as a precondition to voting (i) precludes persons of limited means from voting or imposes unreasonable financial hardship upon such persons as a precondition to their exercise of the franchise, (ii) does not bear a reasonable relationship to any legitimate State interest in the conduct of elections, and (iii) in some areas has the purpose or effect of denying persons the right to vote because of race or color. Upon the basis of these findings, Congress declares that the constitutional right of citizens to vote is denied or abridged in some areas by the requirement of the payment of a poll tax as a precondition to voting.

(b) In the exercise of the powers of Congress under section 5 of the fourteenth amendment and section 2 of the fifteenth amendment, the Attorney General is authorized and directed to institute forthwith in the name of the United States such actions, including actions against States or political subdivisions, for declaratory judgment or injunctive relief against the enforcement of any requirement of the payment of a poll tax as a precondition to voting, or substitute therefor enacted after November 1, 1964, as will be necessary to implement the declaration of subsection (a) and the purposes of this section.

(c) The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction of such actions which shall be heard and determined by a court of three judges in accordance with the provisions of section 2284 of title 28 of the United States Code and any appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court. It shall be the duty of the judges designated to hear the case to assign the case for hearing at the earliest practicable date, to participate in the hearing and determination thereof, and to cause the case to be in every way expedited.

(d) During the pendency of such actions, and thereafter if the courts, notwithstanding this action by the Congress, should declare the requirement of the payment of a poll tax to be constitutional, no citizen of the United States who is a resident of a State or political subdivision with respect to which determinations have been made under subsection 4(b) and a declaratory judgment has not been entered under subsection 4(a), during the first year he becomes otherwise entitled to vote by reason of registration by State or local officials or listing by an examiner, shall be denied the right to vote for failure to pay a poll tax if he tenders payment of such tax for the current year to an examiner or to the appropriate State or local official at least forty-five days prior to election, whether or not such tender would be timely or adequate under State law. An examiner shall have authority to accept such payment from any person authorized by this Act to make an application for listing, and shall issue a receipt for such payment. The examiner shall transmit promptly any such poll tax payment to the office of the State or local official authorized to receive such payment under State law, together with the name and address of the applicant.

SEC. 11. (a) No person acting under color of law shall fail or refuse to permit any person to vote who is entitled to vote under any provision of this Act or is otherwise qualified to vote, or willfully fail or refuse to tabulate, count, and report such person's vote.

(b) No person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, shall intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person for voting or attempting to vote, or intimidate, threaten, or coerce, or attempt to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person for urging or aiding any person to vote or attempt to vote, or intimidate, threaten, or coerce any person for exercising any powers or duties under section 3(a), 6, 8, 9, 10, or 12(e).

(c) Whoever knowingly or willfully gives false information as to his name, address, or period of residence in the voting district for the purpose of establishing his eligibility to register or vote, or conspires with another individual for the purpose of encouraging his false registration to vote or illegal voting, or pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both: Provided, however, That this provision shall be applicable only to general, special, or primary elections held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting or electing any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the United States Senate, Member of the United States House of Representatives, or Delegates or Commissioners from the territories or possessions, or Resident Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(d) Whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of an examiner or hearing officer knowingly and willfully falsifies or conceals a material fact, or makes any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations, or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

SEC. 12. (a) Whoever shall deprive or attempt to deprive any person of any right secured by section 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, or 10 or shall violate section 11(a) or (b), shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(b) Whoever, within a year following an election in a political subdivision in which an examiner has been appointed (1) destroys, defaces, mutilates, or otherwise alters the marking of a paper ballot which has been cast in such election, or (2) alters any official record of voting in such election tabulated from a voting machine or otherwise, shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both

(c) Whoever conspires to violate the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this section, or interferes with any right secured by section 2, 3 4, 5, 7, 10, or 11(a) or (b) shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(d) Whenever any person has engaged or there are reasonable grounds to believe that any person is about to engage in any act or practice prohibited by section 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, or subsection (b) of this section, the Attorney General may institute for the United States, or in the name of the United States, an action for preventive relief, including an application for a temporary or permanent injunction, restraining order, or other order, and including an order directed to the State and State or local election officials to require them (1) to permit persons listed under this Act to vote and (2) to count such votes.

(e) Whenever in any political subdivision in which there are examiners appointed pursuant to this Act any persons allege to such an examiner within forty-eight hours after the closing of the polls that notwithstanding (1) their listing under this Act or registration by an appropriate election official and (2) their eligibility to vote, they have not been permitted to vote in such election, the examiner shall forthwith notify the Attorney General if such allegations in his opinion appear to be well founded. Upon receipt of such notification, the Attorney General may forthwith file with the district court an application for an order providing for the marking, casting, and counting of the ballots of such persons and requiring the inclusion of their votes in the total vote before the results of such election shall be deemed final and any force or effect given thereto. The district court shall hear and determine such matters immediately after the filing of such application. The remedy provided in this subsection shall not preclude any remedy available under State or Federal law.

(f) The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction of proceedings instituted pursuant to this section and shall exercise the same without regard to whether a person asserting rights under the provisions of this Act shall have exhausted any administrative or other remedies that may be provided by law

SEC. 13. Listing procedures shall be terminated in any political subdivision of any State (a) with respect to examiners appointed pursuant to clause (b) of section 6 whenever the Attorney General notifies the Civil Service Commission, or whenever the District Court for the District of Columbia determines in an action for declaratory judgment brought by any political subdivision with respect to which the Director of the Census has determined that more than 50 percentum of the nonwhite persons of voting age residing therein are registered to vote, (1) that all persons listed by an examiner for such subdivision have been placed on the appropriate voting registration roll, and (2) that there is no longer reasonable cause to believe that persons will be deprived of or denied the right to vote on account of race or color in such subdivision, and (b), with respect to examiners appointed pursuant to section 3(a), upon order of the authorizing court. A political subdivision may petition the Attorney General for the termination of listing procedures under clause (a) of this section, and may petition the Attorney General to request the Director of the Census to take such survey or census as may be appropriate for the making of the determination provided for in this section. The District Court for the District of Columbia shall have jurisdiction to require such survey or census to be made by the Director of the Census and it shall require him to do so if it deems the Attorney General's refusal to request such survey or census to be arbitrary or unreasonable. SEC. 14.

(a) All cases of criminal contempt arising under the provisions of this Act shall be governed by section 151 of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (42 U.S.C.1995).

(b) No court other than the District Court for the District of Columbia or a court of appeals in any proceeding under section 9 shall have jurisdiction to issue any declaratory judgment pursuant to section 4 or section 5 or any restraining order or temporary or permanent injunction against the execution or enforcement of any provision of this Act or any action of any Federal officer or employee pursuant hereto.

(c)
(1) The terms "vote" or "voting" shall include all action necessary to make a vote effective in any primary, special, or general election, including, but not limited to, registration, listing pursuant to this Act, or other action required by law prerequisite to voting, casting a ballot, and having such ballot counted properly and included in the appropriate totals of votes cast with respect to candidates for public or party office and propositions for which votes are received in an election.
(2) The term "political subdivision" shall mean any county or parish, except that, where registration for voting is not conducted under the supervision of a county or parish, the term shall include any other subdivision of a State which conducts registration for voting.

(d) In any action for a declaratory judgment brought pursuant to section 4 or section 5 of this Act, subpoenas for witnesses who are required to attend the District Court for the District of Columbia may be served in any judicial district of the United States: Provided, That no writ of subpoena shall issue for witnesses without the District of Columbia at a greater distance than one hundred miles from the place of holding court without the permission of the District Court for the District of Columbia being first had upon proper application and cause shown.

SEC. 15. Section 2004 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C.1971), as amended by section 131 of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (71 Stat. 637), and amended by section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (74 Stat. 90), and as further amended by section 101 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 241), is further amended as follows:

(a) Delete the word "Federal" wherever it appears in subsections (a) and (c);

(b) Repeal subsection (f) and designate the present subsections (g) and (h) as (f) and (g), respectively.

SEC. 16. The Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense, jointly, shall make a full and complete study to determine whether, under the laws or practices of any State or States, there are preconditions to voting, which might tend to result in discrimination against citizens serving in the Armed Forces of the United States seeking to vote. Such officials shall, jointly, make a report to the Congress not later than June 30, 1966, containing the results of such study, together with a list of any States in which such preconditions exist, and shall include in such report such recommendations for legislation as they deem advisable to prevent discrimination in voting against citizens serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.

SEC. 17. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to deny, impair, or otherwise adversely affect the right to vote of any person registered to vote under the law of any State or political subdivision.

SEC. 18. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act

SEC 19. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of the provision to other persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

Approved August 6, 1965.

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EnlargeDownload Link Citation: An act to enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States and for other purposes, August 6, 1965; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789-; General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives View All Pages in the National Archives Catalog View Transcript This act was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson.

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Two games are available: Cast Your Vote game, where you decide on which candidate to choose based on what you think is important, and how the candidate responds after learning about all the issues, where candidates stand, and how to actually cast a ballot. Also, the game Win The Whitehouse is where, as a presidential candidate, you learn to identify what issues matter to voters and land what it takes for them to vote for you.

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We've got answers. Visit our Support Desk to learn how to set-up and use your My iCivics Account.

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PODCAST: 16 & 17 year olds Vote in California *

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PODCAST: 16 & 17 year olds Vote in California *

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Podcast reporting on California's 16- and 17-year-olds who have been granted the right to vote in their local school board elections. Students could listen to the podcast and follow up by researching the history of voting age restrictions in the US and the catalyst for change that promoted the ideals that led to the change.

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PODCAST: 16 and 17-year-olds make history by voting in school board elections in two California cities

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A high school junior reflects on the significance of this moment and the importance of civic engagement for teenagers.

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Website honoring the Legacy of murdered Freedom Summer volunteer Andrew Goodman with biographical information about Andrew Goodman, as well as James Chaney and David Schwermer, and highlighting the current activities of the organization of college and university student interns and ambassadors working for voter rights today. Students can explore the website and identify three ways to encourage student involvement in voting. In small groups, prepare a slide show on the life and impact of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, or David Schwermer and their motivations, experience, and legacy or the impact of today's AGF volunteers on voting access and participation today.

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Established to continue Andy's legacy, The Andrew Goodman Foundation (The AGF) works to make young voices and votes a powerful force in democracy.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Mississippi Burning - Common Sense Media Review ****

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MOVIE REVIEW: Mississippi Burning - Common Sense Media Review ****

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Common Sense Media Review of Film with clips to utilize before screening entire film.

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Violence, profanity, lots of tension in Jim Crow crime drama Read Common Sense Media’s Mississippi Burning review, age rating, and parents guide.

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The Secretary of State's informational page outlines how to become a 16- or 17-year-old poll worker and get paid! stie proives all info an has a chat box. Students can investigate eligibility (including citizenship requirements, gauge interest, and share back why or why not they would consider being a poll worker or write an elevator speech to recruit high school students to consider being a poll worker.

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Be a Student Poll Worker :: California Secretary of State

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Learn how to be a student poll worker here.

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BOOKS: Drawing the Vote (Graphic Novel)*

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BOOKS: Drawing the Vote (Graphic Novel)*

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This graphic novel explores the history of U.S. elections from 2016 to 2022, looking at the events that shaped those elections, as well as the January 6th insurrection. Art is utilized to understand political trends and events and encourage young people to vote. Students could choose a significant event in the book and create their own corresponding graphic novellette.

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Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Description

This updated edition of Drawing the Vote, an original graphic novel, looks at the history of voting rights in the United States and how it affects the way we vote today.
Introduction by Martha Jones
Author Tommy Jenkins identifies events and trends that led to the unprecedented results of the 2016 presidential election that left American political parties more estranged than ever. To balance these complex ideas and statistics, Kati Lacker's original artistic style makes the book accessible for readers of all ages.

At a time when many citizens are experiencing challenges and apathy about voting and skepticism concerning our bitterly divided government, Drawing the Vote seeks to offer some explanation for how we got here and how every American can take action to make their vote count.

This expanded edition features an additional 32 pages of comics that cover the results of the 2020 presidential election and the factors that shaped it, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the January 6 insurrection.

About the Author

Tommy Jenkins is the humanities division chair at Louisburg College in Louisburg, North Carolina, and an associate professor of English. He resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Praise For...

"Jenkins's rousing work will inspire students to educate themselves on the issues-and, when the time comes, to vote early and often."
- School Library Journal - STARRED review

"This is a great year to brush up voting rights, especially the laws surrounding distance voting, and this book is a great start."
- GeekMom

"Written with a progressive tone, this work's clear factual nature makes it a worthy read for anyone across the political spectrum..."
- Library Journal

"A panoptic history of the vote that breaks down everything from gerrymandering to Americans for Prosperity's dark influence, Drawing the Vote is a great pick for both adults and young Americans who want to understand what it means to be a voter."
- Shelf Awareness

"The exposition and Lacker's simple but energetic illustrations combine to pack valuable information on each page, while making even complex issues (such as the racism of white suffragists who fought for the 19th Amendment) easy to follow. Suited best to younger readers new to the topic, Jenkins's work lays out the high-stakes history clearly and succinctly."
- Publishers Weekly

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Drawing the Vote: A Graphic Novel History for Future Voters (Paperback)

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This updated edition of Drawing the Vote, an original graphic novel, looks at the history of voting rights in the United States and how it affects the way we vote today. Introduction by Martha Jones Author Tommy Jenkins identifies events and trends that led to the unprecedented results of the 2016 presidential election that left American political parties more estranged than ever.