Resources on Establishing a Constitutional Right to Vote

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 28

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding the right to vote. This resolution was introduced in March of 2005 by U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) and currently has 60 co-sponsors.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:

SECTION 1. All citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, shall have the right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides. The right to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, any State, or any other public or private person or entity, except that the United States or any State may establish regulations narrowly tailored to produce efficient and honest elections.

SECTION 2. Each State shall administer public elections in the State in accordance with election performance standards established by the Congress. The Congress shall reconsider such election performance standards at least once every four years to determine if higher standards should be established to reflect improvements in methods and practices regarding the administration of elections.

SECTION 3. Each State shall provide any eligible voter the opportunity to register and vote on the day of any public election.

SECTION 4. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Endorse the Right to Vote Amendment! Click here

Additional Resources and Tools

* Use this model resolution in support of the Right to Vote Amendment to generate grassrots support in your community or state. Contact us for campaign assistance.

* Commentaries (by Jesse Jackson Jr.) and Frequently Asked Questions on why we need a constitutional right to vote.

* Current list of House members who have endorsed HJR 28. See the search tool at Vote-Smart.org to get the name and contact information for your elected officials.

* See Professor Jamin Raskin's in-depth exploration of the issue and strategic considerations. (Word doc.)

* So what is the Voting Rights Act?

* For an in-depth analysis of the impacts of ex-felon disenfranchisement, see The Truly Disenfranchised by Manza, Uggen and Britton (pdf).

See our Political Transformation page for more on electoral reforms and links to other key organizations addressing these issues.