Republican Presidential Hopeful Wants To Attach Conditions to Right to Vote
Past attempts at using tests to limit voting rights have been outlawed
Americans should not automatically gain the right to vote when they turn 18, according to one Republican running for president.
Rather, young Americans should have to pass a civics test — similar to the one currently administered to naturalized US citizens — before they are allowed to cast a ballot, said Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman running well behind frontrunners Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Like Trump and DeSantis, Ramaswamy would seek to end birthright citizenship in the United States, which is guaranteed to everyone born on US soil by the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.
He also would seek to impose conditions on the right of young Americans to vote for the first time, which is guaranteed at age 18 by the 26th Amendment.
“One of the things I’ve said is every high school student who graduates from high school should have to pass the same civics test that every immigrant has to pass in order to become a citizen of this country,” Ramaswamy said. “I believe there are civic duties attached to citizenship so much so that I don’t think you should automatically get your right to vote at age 18 unless you have passed that same citizenship test that immigrant had to pass or else have served the country. Part of my broader, pro-civic vision.”
Racist policymakers from the 19th century through mid-20th century used literacy tests to limit the ability of Black Americans to vote. The practice ended only when federal legislation outlawed the practice.
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