"Right is of no sex - Truth is of no color - God is the Father of us all, and we are all Brethren." Frederick Douglass
"Should the females of New York be placed on a level of equality with males before the law? If so, let us petition for this impartial justice for women. In order to ensure this equal justice should the females of New York, like the males, have a voice in appointing the lawmakers and the law administrators? If so, let us petition for Women's Right to Suffrage." Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an African-American abolitionist and one of America’s gifted and most famous 19th-century orators and lecturers. Mr. Douglass on the night he died was present at the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention of 1848 and advocated for women's rights of white and colored women; as well as, with the abolition of any and all voting restrictions.
Douglass' last speech was to the National Council of Women in 1895; he died of a heart attack suffered the evening of the speech. Never forget the founding fathers of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States of Constitution (Frederick Douglass) petitions before Congress and the American people for voting rights for African-American men, women; and families would ensure our families, communities, and businesses would survive and thrive in a day and age when women were not allowed to vote.
African American Suffrage
Frederick Douglass: We Welcome the Fifteenth Amendment
“We Welcome the Fifteenth Amendment” that was delivered on May 12 & 13 of 1869.”
“I must say that I do not see how anyone can pretend that there is the same urgency in giving the ballot to women as to the negro. With us, the matter is a question of life and death. It is a matter of existence, at least in fifteen states of the Union. When women, because they are women, are hunted down through the cities of New York and New Orleans; when they are dragged from their houses and hung upon lamp-posts; when their children are torn from their arms, and their brains dashed out upon the pavement; when they are objects of insult and outrage at every turn; when they are in danger of having their homes burnt down over their heads; when their children are not allowed to enter schools; then they will have an urgency to obtain the ballot equal to our own.”
15th amendment and voting rights Act-Constitution of United States of America 1789 (rev. 1992). Amendment XV
Section 1: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
On Monday, March 30, 2015, the 15th Amendment was adopted by the U.S. Congress; but vetoed by President Johnson his voted did not stop the 13th, 14th, and specifically the 15th amendment which granted African-American men and eventually all women the right to vote.
Following its ratification by the requisite three-fourths of the states, the 15th Amendment, granting African-American men the right to vote, is formally adopted into the U.S. Constitution. Passed by Congress the year before, the amendment reads, “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” One day after it was adopted, Thomas Peterson-Mundy of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, became the first African American to vote under the authority of the 15th Amendment.
In 1867, the Republican-dominated Congress passed the First Reconstruction Act, over President Andrew Johnson’s veto, dividing the South into five military districts and outlining how new governments based on universal manhood suffrage were to be established. With the adoption of the 15th Amendment in 1870, a politically mobilized African-American community joined with white allies in the Southern states to elect the Republican Party to power, which brought about radical changes across the South. By late 1870, all the former Confederate states had been readmitted to the Union, and most were controlled by the Republican Party, thanks to the support of African-American voters.
In the same year, Hiram Rhoades Revels, a Republican from Natchez, Mississippi, became the first African American ever to sit in Congress. Although African-American Republicans never obtained a political office in proportion to their overwhelming electoral majority, Revels and a dozen other African-American men served in Congress during Reconstruction, more than 600 served in state legislatures, and many more held local offices. However, in the late 1870s, the Southern Republican Party vanished with the end of Reconstruction, and Southern state governments effectively nullified the 14th and 15th Amendments, stripping Southern African Americans of the right to vote. It would be nearly a century before the nation would again attempt to establish equal rights for African Americans in the South.
HISTORY OF VOTING RIGHTS AND ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS AGAINST STATES THAT ADD RESTRICTIONS
Did you know that the joint sessions of Congress have the constitutional authority and power to direct How States Administer Elections?
Historically by the letter of the law and the spirit of the law within our elections in the United States, states have partial responsibility for the administration of federal elections. The federal government, however, has more significant authority to determine how these elections are run and may direct states to implement such federal regulations as the federal government provides. This authority can extend to registration, voting, reporting of results, or even more fundamental aspects of the election process such as redistricting.
Congress’s authority to regulate a particular type of election may vary depending on whether that election is for the Presidency, the House, the Senate, or for state and local positions. There are many variations in what aspects of elections are amenable to regulation. Consequently, Congress’s authority to establish election procedures requires an examination of our current and past voting election scenarios where people are not able to vote such as; ex-cons or convicted felons. Quite frankly, this is really unconstitutional and no one has challenged the U.S. Congress (or the US Supreme Court) and the constitutional amendments that were paid for in blood, bullets, ballots, and a belief system in “In God We Trust.”
Under the Civil War Amendments—
Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth—and the Nineteenth, Twenty-fourth, and the Twenty-sixth Amendments, which provide Congress the power to prevent various types of discrimination in access to voting. Further, to the extent that there are gaps in Congress’s power to regulate federal,
state, or local elections, Congress might use the Spending Clause to condition the receipt of federal monies upon compliance with federal requirements. This power would extend to non-federal elections, over which Congress has little textual authority. It should be further noted that legislation in this area may require state agencies to implement
federal election mandates. Such mandates, however, do not appear to run afoul of the “anti-commandeering” requirements of the Tenth Amendment, as the Constitution appears to contemplate that states will bear the burden of administering federal election regulations.
ALL MILITARY & FEDERAL EMPLOYEES CAN VOTE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD
For example, in 1986, Congress passed the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. This act was intended to ensure that members of the uniformed services and U.S. citizens who live abroad are able to register and vote in federal elections. The law was enacted to improve absentee registration and voting for this group of voters. Similarly, in 1993, Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (“Motor Voter Act”) with the intention of making it easier for all citizens to register to vote. The Motor Voter Act requires that, for federal elections, states must establish procedures so that eligible citizens are afforded the opportunity to register at the time they apply for or renew a driver’s license, by mail, or in person.
U.S. Constitutional Provisions
The authority of Congress to legislate regarding these various issues in different types of elections would appear to derive principally from four constitutional provisions:
The Elections Clause. The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators. U.S. Const. Article I, §4, cl. 1.
Day of Chusing Presidential Electors Clause
Congress’s authority to regulate non-state actors in regard to elections. Although Congress has significant authority to regulate the behavior of private individuals, organizations, or corporations as regards elections, such regulations may raise First Amendment free speech and free speech constitutional provision
Content of Freedom of Expression
If speech that a government wishes to censor is not criminal, fraudulent, or defamatory, or does not infringe intellectual property and is not in violation of reasonable restrictions on time, place, or manner, the First Amendment protections are very strong. Most restrictions on the content of free speech, commercial or political, are struck down as unconstitutional. In order for a government to censor content, it must show. The censorship is necessary to promote a compelling governmental interest. The censorship actually advances the compelling governmental interest. The censorship is not overly broad. (Baumer, 2004, p. 150)
The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the [Presidential] Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States. U.S. Const. Article II, §1, cl. 4.
Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause No State shall make or enforce any law which shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. U.S. Const. XIV, §§1 & 5.
Fifteenth Amendment The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. U.S. Const. XV, §§1 & 2.
Congressional Powers Regarding Various Types of Elections
Although the Constitution is silent on various aspects of the voting process, the Constitution seems to anticipate that states would be primarily responsible for establishing procedures for elections. Federal authority to direct how states administer these regulations, however, is also provided for in the Constitution. Congress’s power is at its most broad in the case of House elections, which have historically always been decided by a system of popular voting.
Congressional powers may; or may not be more limited in elections for Senators or President, and is at its narrowest as regards state elections.
House Elections
As noted above, Article I, Section 4, cl. 1 states that Congress may determine “the Times, Places and Manner” for such elections. The Supreme Court and lower courts have interpreted the above language to mean that Congress has extensive power to regulate most elements of a congressional election.
For instance, the Supreme Court has noted that the right to vote for Members of Congress is derived from the Constitution and that Congress, therefore, may legislate broadly under this provision to protect the integrity of this right.14 The Court has stated that the authority to regulate the times, places, and manner of federal elections: 13 U.S. Const. Art. I, Section 2, cl. 1 states “[t]he House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States....”
Seventeenth Amendment.
However, nothing in the Seventeenth Amendment explicitly repealed this restriction, and the meaning of the clause could arguably apply to congressional regulation of sites for popular Voting.
The power of Congress to regulate presidential elections is not as clearly established as the power over House and Senate elections. First, the text of the Constitution provides more limited power to Congress in these situations. Whereas Article I, Section 4, cl. 1 allows regulation of the “time,
place and manner” of congressional elections, Article II, Section 1, cl. 4 provides only that Congress may determine the “time” of choosing presidential electors. Furthermore, despite modern state practice providing for popular voting for electors, the appointment of presidential electors
was historically and remains today's power of the state legislatures. Consequently, the principles of
CONGRESS AUTHORITY OVER ALL ELECTIONS “Important U.S. Supreme Court Cases & Federal Circuit Rulings”
The United States v. Mosley, 238 U.S. 383, 386 (1915) (authority to enforce the right to cast a ballot and have the ballot counted); In re Coy, 127 U.S. 731, 752 (1888) (authority to regulate conduct at any
election coinciding with a federal contest);
CONGRESS COULD PUNISH THE STATE OF FLORIDA FOR DENYING FREED INMATES & OTHER CITIZENS RIGHTS TO VOTE
A Florida state law requiring felons to pay legal fees as part of their sentences before regaining the vote is unconstitutional for those unable to pay, or unable to find out how much they owe, a federal judge ruled. The 125-page ruling was issued by the U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee. It involves a state law to implement a 2016 ballot measure approved by voters to automatically restore the right to vote for many felons who have completed their sentences. The Republican-led Legislature stipulated that fines and legal fees must be paid as part of the sentence, in addition to serving any prison time. The ruling was overturned in the federal appellate court; and now the case is going before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Now right before the election, the Federal Appeals Court Finds Florida Can Require Felons to Pay Fines Before Right to Vote Is Restored. Now, both sides will argue their case within the U.S. Supreme Court jurisdiction-not me.
Mr. Clayborn, still believes that the 15th Amendment gives all citizens the right to vote bond or free, rich or poor, black or white, as long as if you are a citizen (not dual citizens), and are subject to the laws and jurisdictions of the United States of America; and its Constitution; and specifically, “In God We Trust.”
Ex parte Yarbrough, 110 U.S. 651, 662 (1884) (authority to make additional
laws for free, pure, and safe exercise of the right to vote); Ex parte Clarke, 100 U.S. 399, 404 (1879) (authority to punish state election officers for violation of state duties vis-a-vis congressional elections).
See also the United States v. Simms, 508 F. Supp. 1179, 1183-1185 (W.D. La.1979) (criminalizing payments in reference to registration or voting does not offend Tenth Amendment); Prigmore v. Renfro, 356 F. Supp. 427, 430 (N.D. Ala.1972) (absentee ballot program upheld as applied to federal elections), aff’d, 410 U.S. 919 (1973); Fowler v. Adams, 315 F. Supp. 592, 594 (M.D. Fla.1970), appeal dismissed, 400 U.S. 986 (1971) (authority to exact 5% filing fee for congressional elections).
THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE DECIDES THE SEAT OF THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT-NOT THE POPULAR VOTE; ALL OTHER ELECTIONS ARE BY POPULAR VOTE!
This is why Mr.Clayborn ”Trust In The Lord At All Times.”
16 U.S. Const. Art. II, Section 1, cl. 2 provides that “Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah Men of low estate are but a breath,
men of high estate are a delusion; in the balances, they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath. Put no confidence in extortion,
set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God; and that to thee, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For thou dost requite a man according to his work. Psalm 62:8-12
MOST U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICES REFUSES TO HEAR THE FLORIDA PAY-TO-VOTE APPEAL RULING EXCEPT ONE JUSTICE
THE SUPREME COURT OF EQUITY
The Constitution grants the Supreme Court original jurisdiction in cases in which states are a party and those involving diplomats but leaves for Congress to determine the size and responsibilities of the Court that is the capstone of the federal judiciary. The Judiciary Act of 1789 established a Supreme Court with one chief justice and five associate justices.
The act further defined the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to include appellate jurisdiction in larger civil cases and cases in which state courts ruled on federal statutes. Congress required the justices of the Supreme Court to preside with the local federal judges on the U.S. circuit courts that met in judicial districts throughout the nation, thus ensuring that members of the highest court would participate in the principal trial courts of the federal judiciary and be familiar with the procedures of the state courts.
Websites & Works Cited
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “Frederick Douglass: 'A Women's Rights Man'.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Sept. 2011, www.theatlantic.com/personal/archive/2011/09/frederick-douglass-a-womens-rights-man/245977/.
Coleman, Kevin J. The Voting Rights Act of 1965: Background and Overview, webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:vKMbOK4xt0UJ:fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43626.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.
“Federal Judicial Center.” The Supreme Court of the United States and the Federal Judiciary | Federal Judicial Center, www.fjc.gov/node/7251.
Lewis, Jone Johnson. “Frederick Douglass Spoke on Women's Rights.” ThoughtCo, www.thoughtco.com/frederick-douglass-quotes-on-womens-rights-3530068.
Neale, Thomas H. Electoral College Reform: 110th Congress Proposals, the National Popular Vote Campaign, and Other Alternative Developments, webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:E2HiikTM-T8J:crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL34604/7+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.
Parton, Jon. “Florida's 'Pay-to-Vote' Law Ruled Unconstitutional.” CNS, 26 May 2020, www.courthousenews.com/floridas-pay-to-vote-law-ruled-unconstitutional/.
“Protecting Voting Rights.” Public Citizen, 28 Aug. 2020, www.citizen.org/topic/protecting-democracy/protecting-voting-rights/.
Thomas, Kenneth R. Congressional Authority to Direct How States Administer Elections, webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DKCFoIiIH-AJ:crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL30747/10+&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us.
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