Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Several bills have been introduced in Congress to amend the Constitution to overturn Citizens United v. FEC, and to give Congress the express authority to regulate campaign financing in elections.
If we are going to amend the Constitution regarding elections, then we should amend the Constitution to grant a fundamental right to vote. Unlike citizens in every other advanced democracy, Americans do not have a "right" to vote, it is a privilege. Popular perception
notwithstanding, the Constitution provides no explicit guarantee of
voting rights. Jamelle Boiue explains in Making Voting Constitutional:
[The Constitution] outlines a few broad parameters. Article 1, Section 2,
stipulates that the House of Representatives “shall be composed of
Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States,”
while Article 1, Section 4, reserves the conduct of elections to the
states. The Constitution does, however, detail the ways in which groups
of people cannot be denied the vote. The 15th Amendment says you can’t
prevent African American men from voting. The 19th Amendment says you
can’t keep women from voting. Nor can you keep citizens of Washington,
D.C., (23rd Amendment) or 18-year-olds (26th Amendment) from exercising
the franchise. If you can vote for the most “numerous” branch of your
state legislature, then you can also vote for U.S. Senate (17th
Amendment).