Thesis advisor: Shep R. Melnick / Almost half a century since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the most fundamental right in our democracy is still the most contested one. The recent photo identification requirements across the country remind us that discrimination still exists in our elections. The partisan interests at stake over these voter suppressive laws and the ever-present reality of racial gerrymandering are further evidence of that. This thesis examines the history of voting rights litigation since 1965 and discusses the recent tension between the courts and the Department of Justice with respect to their competing interpretations of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and their conflicting views on voter ID laws. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science Honors Program. / Discipline: Political Science .

Redistricting is a challenging task in any state, and Alaska, with its vast geography, sparse population, and uneven population concentrations, presents a unique set of difficulties. The state requires that its legislative districts be contiguous, compact, and relatively socio-economically integrated. Further complicating the process are the requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Alaska is one of nine states required to submit its redistricting plans to the federal government for preclearance, as a result of a history of discrimination against a minority population. Under the VRA, Alaska must avoid retrogression of the voting power of its Alaska Native population. Particularly over the last couple of decades, the requirements of the VRA have come into conflict with the requirements of the state constitution. In the following paper, I will explore the impact of the VRA on redistricting in Alaska, with a particular focus on the redistricting cycle following the 2010 Census.

abstract: This thesis explores the story behind the long effort to achieve Native American suffrage in Arizona. It focuses on two Arizona Supreme Court cases, in which American Indians attempted, and were denied the right to register to vote. The first trial occurred in 1928, four years after the Indian Citizenship Act granted citizenship to all Native Americans born or naturalized in the United States. The Arizona Supreme Court rejected the Native American plaintiff's appeal to register for the electorate, and subsequently disenfranchised Native Americans residing on reservations for the next twenty years. In 1948, a new generation of Arizona Supreme Court Justices overturned the court's previous ruling and finally awarded voting rights to all qualified Native Americans in the state. However, voting rights during the Civil Rights era did not necessarily mean equal voting rights. Therefore, this thesis also investigates how the Voting Rights Act of 1965 greatly reduced the detrimental effects of voter discrimination. This study examines how national events, like world war and the Great Depression influenced the two trials. In particular, this thesis focuses on the construction of political and social power in Arizona as it related to Native American voting rights. In addition, it discusses the evolution of native citizenship in the United States at large and for the most part within Arizona. The thesis also considers how the goal of native assimilation into American society affected American Indian citizenship, and how a paternalistic and conservative American Indian policy of the 1920s greatly influenced the outcome of the first trial. Another thread of this story is the development of mainstream white views of Native Americans. Lastly, this thesis identifies the major players of this story, especially the American Indian activists and their supporters whose courage and perseverance led to an outcome that positively changed the legal rights of generations of Native Americans in Arizona for years to come. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. History 2011

Few policies carry more controversy than voter photo identification requirements. First passed in 2003, these laws require voters to present government-issued ID’s, such as a driver’s license, state identification card, military ID, or qualifying student ID. This paper examines the discursive politics in Wisconsin’s photo ID, seeking to understand how state policymakers justified the law against accusations of voter suppression. Put broadly, this paper seeks to understand the intersection of politics and policy, exploring how irrational policies are formed, implemented, and evaluated.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the trends in Alabama voting which have occurred since V. O. Key's classic study of the problem in 1949; particular emphasis is placed upon the impact on Alabama politics of the growing Negro vote since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

No description available.

Integrated process models that combine both legal and extralegal variables provide a more accurate specification of the judicial decision making process and capture the complexity of the factors that shape judicial behavior. Judicial decision making theories borrow heavily from U.S. Supreme Court research, however, such theories may not automatically be applicable to the lower federal bench. The author uses vote dilution cases originating in the federal district courts from the years 1965 to 1993 to examine what motivates the behavior of district and circuit court judges. The author uses an integrated process model to assess what factors are important to the adjudication process and if there are significant differences between federal district and appellate court judges in decision making.

The disenfranchisement of felons follows a long American tradition of selectively granting the most coveted democratic tradition - voting. As a collateral "civil" consequence to criminal conviction that is legally deemed as non-penal, felon voting prohibitions have been used as an exclusionary tool for certain otherwise eligible voting populations. Current research finds that African-Americans individually and collectively may experience diminished voting power due to felon voting laws (Uggen & Manza, 2002; Manza & Uggen, 2004; King & Mauer, 2004). The purpose of this research is to examine opinions toward felon voting prohibitions in a state that has one of the most restrictive laws in this area. Kentucky is the only state that absolutely restricts all convicted felons from voting and maintains the same voting rights restoration process regardless of offense type, whereas other similarly restrictive states have legally, though not practically, streamlined this process for some offenders. The sample consists of predominantly African-American college students that live and learn as students in Kentucky. It utilizes a modified version of the national survey instrument created by Manza, Brooks & Uggen (2004) - which measured attitudes toward felon enfranchisement based on variations of the correctional status of a convicted criminal and the crime committed by an individual. The data collection instrument was modified to include questions to examine respondent demographic characteristics and moderator variables that may impact opinions toward felon voting prohibitions. The analyses examine the interactions between socio-demographic characteristics, level of knowledge, attitudes towards rehabilitation, and opinions towards the restoration and retention of voting rights. The findings suggest that the majority of respondents favor restoration and retention, though subgroup differences among respondents and subcategory differences among the dependent variables, such as offense type and offender correctional status, determine the level and strength of support for felon voting rights. The implications of the findings are contextualized by examining the importance of voting in a democracy; the significance of examining the attitudes of young African-Americans; the impact of socialization on political opinions; and the effect of legal status and offense type on opinions towards felon voting rights.

Abuse of majority and minority votes within the corporate enterprises This thesis analyzes the possible abuse of majority and minority votes within the corporate enterprises in light of a fundamental changes of civil legislation brought by the Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code of the Czech Republic, as amended, and the Act No. 90/2012 Coll., on business companies and societies (Czech Business Corporations Act) as amended. This examination provides a baseline comparison of new legal rules with the existing legislation and highlights the most important changes that were adopted in the form of the new regulation. On the basis of the analysis, the author evaluates the advantages of the new law and attempts to identify problems that may occur when the law comes into force. The applicability of the existing case law to the new legislation was one of the objectives of the paper. The author came to the conclusion that the applicability of the law is limited to the fundamental legal principles and rules only. The reasoning is that the abuse of majority and minority votes in the corporate enterprises is of such a special nature that it would not be desirable to create any definite rules of interpretation for all the cases or the so-called typical cases. On the contrary, the court should be very careful...

Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), the number of African- Americans competing for and holding state legislative offices has increased significantly. Their growth is most notable in southern state legislatures. A growing number of studies have been devoted to African-Americans in these state legislatures. Absent from previous studies is a comprehensive analysis of African-Americans in the Louisiana state legislature. In 2007 there were a total of 32 African-American legislators. Louisiana ranks among other states with the highest number, 32, and percentage, 22, of African-American legislators. Yet, despite their relatively large presence few scholarly studies have examined their legislative behavior. This study focused primarily on the substantive representation of African-Americans, especially during the post-Hurricane Katrina period. In this dissertation, the following questions were examined: Have the growing number of these legislators resulted in greater influence in state policy-making? Have they chaired any important, policy-relevant committees in the state legislature? Have they articulated and advocated a race-based legislative agenda for African-American constituents? Using a multi-methodological approach including the analysis of voting rights legislation introduced in the post-Hurricane Katrina legislative sessions and qualitative interviews, evidence was found to conclude that African-American House members have provided substantive representation to their constituents, obtained key institutional leadership positions, and campaigned in biracial terms, which has contributed to there ability to have a notable impact in the chamber.