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Difficulty: MediumConstitutional Amendments and Voting Rights

Prior to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, women had already won the right to vote in state and presidential elections in several Western states, while remaining completely disenfranchised in others. Which of the following statements best explains how the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment affected the constitutional balance of power between the federal government and the states?

  1. It established a national constitutional restriction that limited state authority over voter qualifications, while leaving the administration of elections to the states.Answer
  2. B
    It transferred the authority to set voter eligibility requirements and administer elections entirely to the federal government.
  3. C
    It eliminated the states' ability to impose any procedural voter qualification rules, such as residency and registration requirements.
  4. D
    It granted the federal government the power to suspend state elections if female voter turnout did not match male voter turnout.

Answer

The Nineteenth Amendment established a national constitutional restriction that limited state authority over voter qualifications, while leaving the administration of elections to the states.
The correct answer is correct because the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment established a federal baseline that prohibited states from denying the right to vote on the basis of sex. This restricted the states' traditional authority to set arbitrary voter qualifications, but did not completely transfer control of elections to the national government, leaving the administration of elections to the states.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the original constitutional authority of states over voter qualifications.
Under Article I and the Tenth Amendment, states originally held broad reserved powers to determine voter eligibility and manage elections.
The original Constitution did not establish a national standard for who could vote, leading to state-by-state variations.
2
Evaluate how the Nineteenth Amendment modified this authority.
The amendment prohibited states from using sex as a criterion to deny the franchise.
By adding a national restriction, the amendment limited state discretion under federalism, but did not strip states of their general administrative control over elections.

Key Concept

The balance of federalism and constitutional amendments expanding voting rights
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Topics

Constitutional Amendments and Voting Rights

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