State legislators have a singular role: many matters not consigned by the States to the Federal authority are to be regulated at State level. Such is the case of the voting system. Other than some general principles specified by the Constitution, such as the prohibition of abridging the right to vote on account of race (XV Amendment) or sex (XIX Amendment), or of those above 18 years of age (XXVI Amendment), the regulation of many other aspects is reserved to the State legislatures.

At the same time, the laws and the Constitution of every State must conform to a general principle of the US Constitution that is contained in the equal protection clause of the XIV Amendment: "Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Therefore, in principle, State legislators should amend any current laws that in any way abridge the rights of US citizens under their jurisdiction. This would include the right to vote. In the coming days we will feature a list of pertinent legislation from each State.

What do you think?