Among the fundamental rights guaranteed to adult U.S. citizens is the right to vote. Like other fundamental rights, such as the right to privacy and the right to travel, the government is prohibited from restricting the right to vote, unless there is a compelling government interest and such a restriction would be necessary to achieve that interest. This standard is called the strict scrutiny standard, and it is an important standard as it relates to your fundamental rights.

In this article, we’ll discuss certain restrictions that have been placed on the fundamental right to vote, and whether those restrictions are constitutional or unconstitutional. We’ll also discuss the principle of “one person, one vote”, and what this means at each level of government. Finally, on the "flip-side" of things, we’ll look at what it takes to run for office, for all of you future office seekers out there.

First, let’s take a look at restrictions on the right to vote.

As mentioned in the Introduction, in order to place restrictions on the right to vote, the restrictions must meet the test of strict scrutiny. Some of the restrictions that have been upheld are residence, age, and citizenship. Let’s look at each one of these concepts a little further.

The government may place reasonable residency restrictions on the fundamental right to vote. For example, your State may require that you reside within its parameters for a period of 30 days before you are afforded the right to vote in a particular election. This requirement allows the states to ensure that the people voting in their elections are people who are true residents of that respective state, and people who will truly be affected by the decisions made and the laws passed in that state.

In addition to reasonable residency requirements, the government can place restrictions on voting based on the voter’s age and citizenship. According to the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the right of citizens of the U.S., who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied by the U.S. or by any State on account of age. Here, the Amendment makes it clear that you must be eighteen years old, commonly known as the legal age at which you reach adulthood. This is a reasonable restriction on voting because it still recognizes that all adults have the fundamental right to vote. Furthermore, the Amendment also recognizes that the right extends to citizens of the U.S. This restriction is similar to the reasonable residency restrictions, in that the U.S. government can require that all voters must be true citizens who are affected by the decisions made and the laws passed in the U.S.

Not permissible are restrictions on sex, race, color, as well as the requirement to pay poll taxes. All of these restrictions and requirements have been found to be unconstitutional over the course of time. Shortly after the Civil War, the 15th Amendment was passed in order to ensure that African-Americans and/or former slaves were afforded the fundamental right to vote. Likewise, in 1920, the 19th Amendment was passed in order to ensure that women were afforded the equal opportunity to vote. Finally, the issue of poll taxes was addressed in 1964, in which many states required payment of taxes prior to exercising your right to vote. These taxes were essentially a means to prevent people of certain races and classes from voting, and the 24th Amendment was passed to stop this unconstitutional restriction.

Next, let’s discuss the "one person, one vote" principle, and what this means to you.

When a governmental body decides to hold a popular election to select representatives from an individual district, the "one person, one vote" principle applies. This principle prevents dilution of a person’s fundamental right to vote because it requires that each district contain an equal number of people. Let’s examine this concept a little further.

In state and local elections, the number of persons within each district must be equal to the point that they are only a few percentage points off. It forces state and local governments to create their districts with almost exact mathematical certainly in order to make them all as equal as possible. On the other hand, the method used by the U.S. Congress is slightly more lax than the method used by states, and it is based more on good faith than on mathematical equality.

The "one person, one vote" principle does have one major exception, and this is when the election is a special purpose election. If there is an election in which an official is elected who does not exercise "normal government authority", but instead deals with matters that are of special interest within a specific community, then the "one person, one vote" principle does not apply.

An example of this would be special purpose elections in water storage districts, such as the Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water Storage District, a public agency whose jurisdiction encompasses about 147,000 acres of land in Kern County, California. Here, it is possible that residents in water storage districts may only get to vote in the water board's elections if they own land, thus making the "one acre, one vote" principle applicable. It is important to note that the government is conditioning the right to vote on ownership of property, a restriction which is usually unconstitutional, unless it is a special purpose election.

Next, let’s look at the requirements in place when choosing to run for a government office.

Implicit in the fundamental right to vote is a right to run a campaign to secure a position in government. Like voting, there are also some restrictions that can and cannot be placed on an individual campaigning for office. For example, reasonable, non-discriminatory restrictions can be placed on those seeking to be placed on the ballot. In particular, the government can require a person to show that he or she has a reasonable amount of public support before the state will place his or her name on the ballot. A state may require you to present a petition for your candidacy with a certain number of signatures on it before you are given access to the ballot.

Another requirement to achieve access to having your name placed on the ballot may be a certain fee. In fact, some states may require you to either have a certain number of signatures indicating support for your position, OR to pay a fee to be placed on the ballot. However, the fee itself must be reasonable in price, and a state may not charge a fee to a candidate that would make it impossible for an indigent person to campaign for office.

Finally, let’s wrap this article up with a few key points.

This article demonstrated that one of the most coveted fundamental rights guaranteed to adult U.S. citizens is the right to vote. Like other fundamental rights, such as the right to privacy and the right to travel, the government is prohibited from restricting the right to vote, unless there is a compelling government interest and such a restriction would be necessary to achieve that interest. This standard is called the strict scrutiny standard, and it is an important standard as it relates to your fundamental rights.

In this article, we’ve outlined certain restrictions that have been placed on the fundamental right to vote, and we’ve explored whether those restrictions have been found to be constitutional or unconstitutional. We’ve also discussed the principle of "one person, one vote", and what this means at each level of government. Finally, we’ve looked at what it takes to run for office, and what restrictions have been placed on this right. Now, you should have a better understanding of your fundamental right to vote as an adult U.S. citizen.