Amendment 15 of 27 · 1870
Fifteenth Amendment
Voting and race
The one-line version
No government can deny or limit your right to vote because of your race or color.
The Fifteenth Amendment in plain English
Section 1. The right of U.S. citizens to vote cannot be denied or limited by the federal government or by any state because of their race, color, or whether they were previously enslaved.
Section 2. Congress has the power to enforce this amendment by passing appropriate laws.
Original text, 1870
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Phrase by phrase
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged
- No one can take away or limit a citizen's right to vote
by the United States or by any State
- This applies to the federal government and to every state.
on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude
- because of race, skin color, or having once been enslaved.
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
- Congress can pass laws, such as the Voting Rights Act, to enforce this.
Picture it
Example. Not legal advice.
It is your first election, and a poll worker says you must pass a reading test before you can vote. Tests like that were used for decades to block Black voters. Federal law now bans literacy tests for voting everywhere in the country. You can ask for an election official or call the Election Protection hotline at 866-687-8683.
What this means for you
Race cannot block your vote
The Fifteenth Amendment says no government can deny or limit your right to vote because of your race or color. It applies to the federal government and every state. Congress enforces it through laws such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
A long gap between promise and practice
For nearly 100 years after 1870, many states kept Black citizens from voting. They used poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, threats, and violence. After Reconstruction ended, the federal government did not enforce the amendment on a large scale again until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The Voting Rights Act today
In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Court stopped the use of the formula that decided which places needed federal approval before changing voting rules. In Louisiana v. Callais (2026), the Court read Section 2 of the Act more narrowly in a case about congressional maps. Section 2 and other parts of the law are still in effect.
If you are turned away
If you think you were turned away from voting because of your race, write down what happened and who was involved. Rules for voting differ by state. You can call the Election Protection hotline at 866-687-8683 or ask a lawyer.
Myth check
MythThe Fifteenth Amendment gave everyone the right to vote.
FactIt bans race discrimination in voting. It did not protect women, who won that protection in 1920, and it did not set a voting age.
MythBlack Americans could vote freely after 1870.
FactMany Southern states used poll taxes, reading tests, and violence to stop Black citizens from voting until the 1960s.
MythThe Voting Rights Act no longer exists.
FactThe Court ended the formula for federal preapproval in 2013 and read Section 2 more narrowly in 2026. Other parts of the law, including Section 2, are still in effect.
Common questions
What does the 15th Amendment say in simple terms?
It says no government can deny or limit a citizen's right to vote because of race, color, or having once been enslaved. It applies to the federal government and every state. Congress can enforce it with laws such as the Voting Rights Act.
When was the 15th Amendment ratified?
February 3, 1870. It was the last of the three Reconstruction Amendments passed after the Civil War. It followed the 13th, which ended slavery, and the 14th, which covers citizenship and equal protection.
Did the 15th Amendment give women the right to vote?
No. It bans race discrimination in voting, but it says nothing about sex. Women won national protection for their vote in 1920, through the 19th Amendment.
Why couldn't Black people vote after the 15th Amendment?
After Reconstruction, many states used poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, threats, and violence to block Black voters. These tactics lasted for nearly 100 years. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally put the amendment into practice on a large scale.
Is the Voting Rights Act still in effect?
Yes, but parts of it are narrower now. In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Court stopped the use of the formula for federal preapproval. In Louisiana v. Callais (2026), it read Section 2 more narrowly. Section 2 and other parts still apply.
Go deeper
The scene · 1870
After the Civil War, about 4 million formerly enslaved people became citizens. In 1868, many states still did not let Black men vote. Congress wanted a direct ban on race discrimination in voting, and the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in 1870. In the next few years, Black men voted in large numbers across the South, and many were elected to office.
Back then
Before 1870, each state decided who could vote. The Fourteenth Amendment only threatened to reduce a state's seats in Congress if it denied men the vote. Congress wanted a clear, national ban on race discrimination in voting instead.
Words that changed
- “abridged”
ThenShortened or cut down.
NowLimited. A rule can abridge a right without banning it, for example by making it much harder to use.
Who argued what
Frederick Douglass and other supporters
Black men urgently needed the vote to protect themselves and their communities, so the amendment should pass now, even if it did not cover everyone.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony
An amendment that protected men's votes but left out women was unfair. They wanted the vote for all citizens at once.
Key cases
- 1915
Guinn v. United States
Oklahoma's grandfather clause, which excused mostly white voters from a reading test, violated the Fifteenth Amendment.
- 1944
Smith v. Allwright
Texas could not allow only white voters to take part in party primary elections.
- 1966
South Carolina v. Katzenbach
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a valid use of Congress's power to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment.
- 2013
Shelby County v. Holder
The formula that decided which places needed federal approval before changing voting rules was outdated and could no longer be used.
- 2026
Louisiana v. Callais
Louisiana's map with a second majority-Black district was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander; the Court said the Voting Rights Act did not require it.
More history and context
The Fifteenth Amendment was ratified on February 3, 1870. It was the last of the three Reconstruction Amendments, after the Thirteenth (ending slavery) and the Fourteenth (citizenship and equal protection).
The amendment did not ban voting limits based on sex, age, or wealth. Later amendments covered those: the Nineteenth (1920) for sex, the Twenty-Fourth (1964) for poll taxes in federal elections, and the Twenty-Sixth (1971) for age. States also used rules that did not mention race, such as literacy tests, to keep Black citizens from voting.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is the most important law passed under Section 2. It banned literacy tests in many places, sent federal observers to elections, and required some places to get federal approval before changing voting rules. In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Court held that the formula for choosing those places could no longer be used.
In Louisiana v. Callais (2026), the Court held 6–3 that a Louisiana congressional map with a second majority-Black district was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The majority said Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act did not require that district. The dissent argued the ruling would greatly weaken Section 2.
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