What is the 15th Amendment?

The 15th Amendment reads: '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. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.' Congress proposed it on February 26, 1869, and it was ratified on February 3, 1870, becoming the third of the three Reconstruction Amendments (along with the 13th and 14th).

Despite ratification, southern states used a range of tactics for nearly a century to block Black voters in practice. Poll taxes (a payment required to vote) survived until the 24th Amendment eliminated them for federal elections in 1964. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses, white primaries, and violence were also used. The Supreme Court struck down the white primary in Smith v. Allwright (1944), but widespread suppression continued until Congress acted.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) was the landmark federal statute that gave the 15th Amendment real enforcement teeth. Its Section 5 required certain states and jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to obtain federal 'preclearance' before changing voting rules. In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Supreme Court struck down Section 4(b), the formula used to determine which jurisdictions were covered, effectively suspending preclearance. Section 2, which allows challenges to discriminatory voting laws in court, remains in force.

For the 2028 presidential election, the 15th Amendment means no voter may be turned away or have their registration rejected because of race or color. Combined with the 19th Amendment (sex), the 24th Amendment (no poll tax in federal elections), and the 26th Amendment (age 18 and up), it forms the core constitutional anti-discrimination framework governing who may vote. Any state voting rule that a court finds intentionally discriminatory on the basis of race violates the 15th Amendment and is void.