June 9, 2019

by Steve Stofka

One hundred years ago, Congress passed the 19^th Amendment giving women the right to vote (Note #1). Despite the ratification of the amendment, many African Americans and those from Asian countries faced barriers to voting (Note #2). During the 18^th and 19^th centuries, America and other developed nations denied women civil and legal rights through marriage and coverture laws (Note #3). Some Islamic nations like Saudi Arabia continue to exclude women from the rights enjoyed by men.

Two-hundred thirty years ago, the Declaration of Independence stated a natural right that all people are created equal.  Unlike our sentiments, 18^th and 19^th century Americans regarded natural rights as separate from legal and civil rights. When drafting the 14^th Amendment following the Civil War, Republicans based their case for black citizenship on natural rights. Such a strategy, however, strengthened the claims of women who wanted the right to vote. Republican lawmakers added Section 2, which specified male persons (Note #4).    

Human societies have a long history of restricting the freedoms of some members of their society. Why? There’s a profitable payoff. The American Medical Society restricts the number of doctors who can be licensed. The result is that American general practitioners enjoy the highest earnings among all nations – double the average of developed countries (Note #5).

Established suppliers of a product or service enjoy less competition and greater profits if they can convince lawmakers to restrict entry into that market. Hundreds of occupational licensing laws reduce the threat of more competitive pricing and cost consumers billions of dollars (Note #6). Older people may remember the Blue Laws preventing the conduct of some business on Sunday (Note #7).  Most Blue Laws today concern the sale of alcohol on Sunday but some states, including Colorado and some Midwest states, prohibit the sale of automobiles on Sunday. Most banks are closed on Sunday, but some states have begun to relax those rules (Note #8). Post Office branches used to offer savings accounts, but these were discontinued in the 1960s (Note #9). To help those who are largely unbanked, post offices could start offering simple banking services again (Note #10).

Each vote is a lottery ticket to choose who has political power. Most votes cancel each other out so there is an incentive for those with similar voting preferences to join forces to make voting easier for their group and difficult for those with different preferences.  

The first debates between Democratic contenders for the 2020 election begin this month. In the coming year, watch for even more strategies designed to restrict or liberalize voting. The election officials in some counties will not operate enough polling places so that lines are long, and voting is inconvenient for some of its citizens, particularly for those who are likely to vote the Democratic ticket. Some states will have vigorous voter registration drives to draw in more voters for the Democratic ticket.

To counter these efforts, Republican lawmakers in some states have passed laws making it more difficult to validate last minute registrations (Note #11). They argue that the integrity of the vote is their only concern and they point out that many Republican led legislatures have implemented DMV registration to make registration easier. Several states are instituting registration at social agencies as well (Note # 12). Democratic organizations characterize any restrictions as voter suppression.

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Notes:

1. Background on 19^th Amendment
2. Citizenship and voting restrictions in the first half of the 20^th century
3. Marriage and coverture laws denying women the right to own property separate from their husbands
4. Drafting the 14^th Amendment
5. Comparison of doctors’ earnings
6. Occupational Licensing laws
7. Blue Laws
8. Banks open on Sunday
9. US Postal Service savings accounts
10. Proposals to have postal service offer banking services
11. Laws to restrict voter registration
12. 36 states are taking steps to modernize voter registration