Voting Rights at a Crossroads: The Fifteenth Amendment, the Voting Rights Act, and the Future of American Elections
As Americans commemorate 250 years of the nation's democratic experiment and prepare for the upcoming midterm elections, questions about voting rights and representation remain at the center of public debate.
The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870 after the Civil War, was intended to protect citizens from being denied the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Nearly a century later, Congress strengthened those protections through the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most consequential civil rights laws in U.S. history. Yet over the past decade, a series of Supreme Court decisions, beginning with Shelby County v. Holder in 2013 and continuing through the 2026 case Louisiana v. Callais, have significantly weakened key provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
What do these decisions mean for voting rights today? How have they changed protections for voters, particularly Black voters and other minority groups? And what implications might they have for the 2026 midterm elections and the future of American democracy?
Join us for CSUN’s Constitution Day event as we explore the history and promise of the Voting Rights Act and the ongoing debates surrounding it. This timely discussion will examine recent Supreme Court rulings, their legal and political significance, and the challenges facing voting rights in the 21st century.
Panelists
Leigh Bradberry, Ph.D., J.D.
Professor of Political Science
Department of Political Science
California State University, Northridge
Pooya Safarzadeh, Ph.D., J.D.
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Department of Political Science
California State University, Northridge
Moderator
Sherry M. Sidick, M.S.
Student Success/Client Relations Specialist
The Tseng College
California State University, Northridge
If you have any questions, please email ConstitutionDay@csun.edu or call the Tseng College at (818) 677-3113.
