Dupontster
Would THIS face lie?
Would it be possible for Trump to enact an executive order to make voter ID mandatory? Asking for a friend.. I know if he did, the Lib heads would explode..
Voter ID
- Thread starter Dupontster
- Start date
This_person
Well-Known Member
I don't think so (but, I'm not sure).
To vote for a Representative, the Constitution says that, "... the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature."
Now, I'm admittedly not a lawyer. But, to me, that says, the voter (the elector) needs to be qualified to vote, but that the state sets the requirement for who can and cannot vote based on their own internal qualifications (internal to state elections) on how they allow people to vote for the state legislature's representatives (most numerous branch...).
We also know that the 15th, 19th, and 26th say, "but you can't deny people based on race, sex, or age (18 or over) the right to vote". So, they limit the authority of the states to limit who can vote based on those three things. Otherwise, it is up to the states who votes, provided they do not limit those three things.
So, can a state say that 14 year olds can vote? I think so. Can a state say "only those who own land in this state may vote"? Yep, it seems they can.
But, your question was whether the executive branch of the federal government can say anything like that, and it seems they cannot.
And, this is a good thing. The executive branch is given really VERY little authority/power in the constitution to do anything but execute the laws the legislative pass to the chief executive, or override the chief executive to achieve.
That's a good thing. We should try going back to doing that.
This_person
Well-Known Member
In this distant past, voting HAS been tied to land ownership.
This_person
Well-Known Member
And, living - like, living in a certain district where one votes, or, being the living being you say you are, or, just being alive.
GWguy
*
Are you asking this because you want mandatory ID? Or just because you want to watch lib heads to explode?
Hijinx
Well-Known Member
Any objections to either ?Are you asking this because you want mandatory ID? Or just because you want to watch lib heads to explode?
GWguy
*
Nope! Just curious....
awpitt
Main Streeter
No. I mean, he could try to but it would be meaningless.
Dupontster
Would THIS face lie?
Neither one would hurt my feelings..Are you asking this because you want mandatory ID? Or just because you want to watch lib heads to explode?
awpitt
Main Streeter
That is true for state and local elections. For federal elections, the voting age is 18 and states cannot change that.
This_person
Well-Known Member
No, that's not true. The states cannot restrict someone at least 18 from voting. They can't say, "you must be 21", but they CAN say, "you can be 14".
The text of the 26th amendment:
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
Like with the other "rights" defined by the constitution, they are not actually defining "rights", they are defining limitations on government (and should be thought of as such). In this case, the government (state and federal) is limited in that it cannot deny someone 18 or older from voting on account of age. But, they CAN say that a 14 year old can vote. That would not violate such a limitation.
awpitt
Main Streeter
States cannot allow a 14 year old to vote in a federal election. The minimum age is 18. One exception is that some states allow 17 year olds to vote in a primary as long as they will be 18 by the general election. That happened to me. I was 17 when I first voted in a primary but I was 18 when the general election came around. If, as you claim, states could let 14 year olds vote, then why was it necessary to have an amendment to lower the voting age to 18? That would've never been needed if states were allowed to set a lower age on their own.
Having said that, states, cities, towns, etc. can allow a 14 year old to vote for state and local offices. Example.... The town of Leonardtown is free to set the voting age for their own mayor and town council elections. In fact, Takoma Park, Hyattsville, and Greenbelt have set their voting age to 16 for their own town elections.
This_person
Well-Known Member
What stops them, except their own laws that they can change if they so choose? I've shown you the 26th amendment, and that aint it. So, what is it that stops a state from allowing a 14 year old to vote?
awpitt
Main Streeter
If, as you say, nothing is stopping them, why was the 26th Amendment even needed? The states could've lowered the voting age on their own.
This_person
Well-Known Member
They could have, but there was an issue of people younger wanting to vote, and some could not (while others could, depending on the state). So, Nixon signed into law a bill requiring all states to register those 18 and older. He didn't think it was constitutional to do so (since it was the state's right to decide, per the tenth amendment), and SCOTUS agreed in Oregon v. Mitchell.
So, in response to Viet Nam era students who could be forced to fight (the draft still existed) in war, but could not vote to change federal policies, the amendment was drafted and ratified to say that states could not restrict those at least 18 to vote (since they could be drafted). The goal was to lower to 18 the voting age across the nation.
Nothing stops a state from saying a 14 year old can vote, and that includes in federal elections. They are only restricted from saying an 18 year old cannot for reasons of age.
This_person
Well-Known Member
This is a common misconception, taught to us by biased and inept schools, about the 19th amendment for women's suffrage, too. Nothing stopped women from voting except state laws. Most states allowed women to vote at the time of the 19th amendment - many women voted for the right to vote, which is crazy to me that this information is not common knowledge.