Free Essay about U.S Democratic System

The U.S is the second-largest democratic nation based on its high population of registered voters. It is second after India and followed by Indonesia. However, there are valid reasons to believe that American citizens are less informed about their democratic rights. This result in various arguments as to whether the U.S is more or less democratic based on the Johnson's Voting Rights Act and the Shelby V. Holder Ruling. The Shelby V. Holder Ruling was significant in the U.S political system and made the U.S a more democratic nation while the Johnson's Voting Rights Act also played a major role in eliminating voter discrimination.

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Before the enactment of both the Johnson's Voting Rights Act and the Shelby V. Holder Ruling, there were extreme voter discriminatory practices against numerous ethnic groups including the African-Americans. Africans were denied the right to vote based on their races and were subjected to literacy test to determine whether they would or would not vote. The blacks were also subjected to various kinds of harsh treatments such as physical assaults and economic reprisals when they tried to register as voters. After the 1964 Mississippi violence eruptions and the Selma attacks, President Johnson took the constitutional crisis seriously and introduced the new voting rights on August 5, 1965, hence empowering all ethnic groups. All Americans must enjoy the privileges of citizenship regardless of their ethnicities, (Lyndon B. Johnson, pg.1).

In comparison between the Johnson's Voting rights Act and the Shelby V. Holder were enacted in the year 1965 when there were extreme cases voter discriminations in the country and aimed to improve the U.S voting laws. Both led to the elimination of discriminatory voter practices and strengthened the democratic rights of the African-Americans and other discriminated ethnic groups in the U.S. Both of these enactments seek a preliminary injunction to block any potential discriminative law. In contrast to the two voting rights, the Johnson's Voting Rights entirely positioned the federal government to regulate all elections while the Shelby V. Holder requires the local governments to acquire approvals from the central government before making any alterations to their democratic laws. In the Johnson's Voting Rights Act, the Congress updated some ineffective parts of section four and five in the year 1975, (Adam Liptak, pg.1). In the Shelby V. Holder ruling, the federal government failed to make alterations to section five as the preclearance requirement only applies to jurisdictions covered by section four.

The U.S democratic laws have faced gradual changes making them stronger and ensuring the provision of these rights to any American citizen. In the year 2014, John Conyers and James Sensenbrenner introduced a bill that was passed in the year 2015 by the Senate. The bill required jurisdictions to observe the recent records of multiple violations of the voting rights to make effective changes to the preclearance laws. It also proposed for sufficient voter education on any developments in the voting laws to keep them updated on their democratic rights. The bill proposed for the federalists to be allowed to monitor elections and ensure that all electoral activities are in compliance with the U.S voting rights. The recent rulings make the United States of America a more democratic nation as they protect the voting rights of the Americans.

Works Cited

Johnson, Lyndon B. "Speech on Voting Rights Before Congress (March 15, 1965)." Miller Center. Web. 20 May 2016.

"Voting Rights Act (1965)." Www.ourdocuments.gov. Web. 20 May 2016.

"The Voting Rights Act: A Resource Page." Www.brennancenter.org. New York University School of Law, 4 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 May 2016.

Liptak, Adam. "Supreme Court Ejects Key sections on Voting Rights Act." The New York Times. 25 June 2013. Web. 20 May 2016.