Legal Definitions - Nineteenth Amendment

The Nineteenth Amendment is a crucial part of the United States Constitution, ratified in 1920. It unequivocally states that the right of citizens to vote cannot be denied or restricted by the federal government or by any state based on a person's sex. Essentially, this amendment legally guarantees women the right to vote, often referred to as women's suffrage.

Here are some examples illustrating the application of the Nineteenth Amendment:

• Example 1: State Law Restricting Women's Participation
  Imagine a hypothetical scenario in 1930 where a state legislature attempts to pass a new law declaring that only men are eligible to vote in local municipal elections, arguing that women should focus on domestic duties. This proposed law would be immediately struck down as unconstitutional because the Nineteenth Amendment explicitly prohibits any state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote on the basis of sex.
• Example 2: Discriminatory Voter Registration Policy
  Consider a county election board that implements a new voter registration policy requiring all female applicants to provide proof of employment outside the home, while male applicants are not subject to the same requirement. Even though the policy doesn't explicitly say "women cannot vote," it creates an additional, sex-specific hurdle that makes it more difficult for women to register and, consequently, to vote. This discriminatory practice would violate the Nineteenth Amendment by abridging women's voting rights based on their sex.
• Example 3: Federal Attempt to Limit Women's Electoral College Votes
  Suppose the U.S. Congress proposes a federal statute that would count electoral votes cast by women for presidential elections as only half the value of votes cast by men, based on an outdated belief about women's political engagement. Such a federal law would be a direct violation of the Nineteenth Amendment. The amendment ensures that the federal government cannot diminish or deny the voting power of citizens based on their sex, meaning all votes, regardless of the voter's sex, must be counted equally.