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Date
Nov 24, 2024
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Daina Edwards
IDS-100-R3555
Voting Rights Through Different Lenses
Introduction: The Four Lenses
There are four ways of looking at things and judging their merits in the liberal arts. Science,
social studies, the humanities, and nature comprise the four perspectives. Learning about the past
helps us become more curious and critical thinkers. Learn more about the globe from a more well-
rounded historical vantage point. Insights into our origins, development, and collaborative growth
opportunities are provided. In doing so, we are less likely to repeat the error and more likely to
respond effectively to any similar situations or difficulties that may arise in the future. The term
humanities encompass a wide range of disciplines, not the least of which is the English language
and philosophy. International, racial, and global studies are also included. Studying the humanities
allows us to understand better the principles guiding our society and our lives. The study of many
civilizations from all around the world is also part of the humanities. That's useful because it sheds
light on how people create bonds with one another and how they behave in social situations. The
first step in the social sciences is for humans to understand their own culture and other peoples'
cultures. Health, happiness, and economic development are just a few other areas where social
sciences have proven useful. Natural Science is a contemporary approach to comprehending the
physical universe based on observation, hypothesis creation, and experimental verification
(HAUGHT 2011).
Knowledge of the natural world and scientific methods equips us to critically examine the
information we find as we pursue new interests. It demonstrates the steps of the scientific method,
from coming up with a hypothesis to asking questions to do experiments to concluding and coming
up with yet another idea to test.
Types of Evidence
Primary sources are used extensively across the humanities, social sciences, and history
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disciplines. Materials from eyewitnesses and participants, such as records and artifacts, are
examples of such sources. Among these are pictures, relics, and records. Documents and artifacts
created during the study are the raw ingredients of history (NEWMAN 2014). Research papers,
interviews, experimental data, and lab notebooks are all examples of primary sources used via the
natural science lens. Both the social science and humanities perspectives rely on secondary sources,
including books, journals, and reference works. Analyses of primary materials are what we call
secondary sources.
Differences or Similarities of The Lenses
All four perspectives of the liberal arts have their unique characteristics. Through my research, the
humanities (including history) complement each other quite well. Learning about the past helps us become
more interested and critical thinkers. Learning from the experiences of the past helps shape a more well-
rounded worldview. It shows us where we've been, how we got here, and where we may make changes for
the better. Actual events are the basis of history. The humanities examine the connections between
individuals and groups by digging into our past. The study of humanities teaches us the importance of
understanding other cultures and how history is written.
Similarities and contrasts exist between the natural and social sciences as well. The study of the
natural world is natural science's forte. It uses the scientific method to pose and address questions and
contains actual scientific experiments. The social sciences study society, as well as individual behavior and
relationships. Economics and politics are also considered part of the social sciences. Natural science takes a
more objective view, while social science gathers information about human behavior in its social and
cultural contexts. Both perspectives conduct their research in unique ways.
Researching Your Topic What I Know
The voting right is the topic that I have chosen to investigate for my class project. To this
day, I have always taken advantage of every opportunity to exercise my right to vote or participate
in any election, whether local or national. We help with the campaign as well as the polling
locations. I chose the history of voting rights as the subject of my research since I am
knowledgeable about the subject. At a point in history, only some were granted the right to vote.
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Voting rights were restricted to only white men who owned property. By hinting that voters needed
to pass a literacy test, government entities made it more difficult for people of color, particularly in
the South, to exercise their voting rights. The passage of several acts and pieces of legislation over
many years has, in the aggregate, extended the right to vote in elections to women and people of
color.
What I Know: History Lens
People in the United States gained the right to vote in elections thanks to a series of
amendments that were ratified and subsequently added to the Constitution of the United States. The
Fifteenth Amendment, which granted voting rights to males of all races and colors, was ratified in
1870 and became a law that year. The 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, was
finally ratified later that year, in 1920. During the Civil War, southern states adopted racially
discriminatory voting methods made illegal by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, passed by Congress
and signed into law by former President Lyndon Johnson. This also included the literacy exam that
many people were required to take and pass before they could exercise their voting rights; southern
states used several mechanisms designed to disenfranchise African Americans and poor whites; a
statement that appears harsh (MOORE 2019).
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What I Know: Humanities Lens
Even though we are discussing voting rights, suffrage and women's rights are important to
this topic. Women wished to be treated equally and to have the same rights as males. It was a long
struggle, and there is still evidence in today's culture that women are not treated equally to men.
The struggle lasted decades. Consider abortion rights or the reality that some corporations pay men
and women differently for the same work.
Women have been fighting for equal rights with men for decades, and they continue to do
so now. They want equal rights. The white garment was an important symbol in the campaign for
women's suffrage. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the white dress became
a basic and central foundation for the women's suffrage struggle (WAHL 2018).
What I Know: Social Science Lens
There are still rules to follow even though voting rights have been expanded to a large
portion of the American population. To prevent the wrong person from casting a vote, for instance,
authorities often request voters to show photo identification. Some voters in the 2020 election were
offered the option to vote from home and mail in their ballot. This occurred during the covid
period. Several individuals believed there had been election fraud after hearing claims that ballots
favoring certain parties had been discovered in a dumpster and never counted. Even though many
people can now exercise their right to vote because of improvements in voting access, people with
felony convictions are still prohibited from voting. "Felon disenfranchisement" describes the
procedure. As a result of this longstanding custom, felons are denied the right to cast a ballot for
the rest of their lives or only while in prison, on probation, or parole.
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What I Know: Natural Science Lens
Several experts think that in the not-too-distant future, people will be able to vote online or
via their phones. Paper ballots pose difficulties in the event of a recount or the disappearance of a
ballot.
While I think electronic voting is a fantastic idea, it should only be used in polling places to
prevent voter fraud. To commit vote fraud, a person must physically appear at the polling place,
provide valid identification, and be eligible to vote. If people vote from home using their cell
phones, there might be several complications. Some people aren't tech knowledgeable enough to
figure out how to make their phone work properly.
What I Want to Know: History Lens
Voting and the right to vote have played significant roles throughout history. Without these
initiatives, voting restrictions are still in place. I want to know when exactly women were given the
right to vote. How much longer did it take for the women who fought for their rights to be granted
the right to vote finally? When exactly did African Americans receive the right to vote? Who was
the first person to strive for equal rights? When I conduct this search, some keywords that I will
utilize include women's voting rights, Black American voting, women's suffrage, period, and a
timeline of the progression of women's voting rights.
What I Want to Know: Humanities Lens
The humanities cover a wide range of topics, such as English, philosophy, foreign, ethnic,
and global studies. Humanities allow us to investigate ideals important to us as a society and as
individuals. Through the perspective of humanities, I'd like to discover and comprehend whether
today's social media platforms will influence or be a part of how we vote in the future. Can we vote
in the future if everyone was on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter? How will this affect
our voting habits and encourage young people to vote? This is the first time I've seen somebody my
age voting in national or municipal elections. Will this make voting appealing to young adults?
Will these outcomes affect future elections? This is probably new research, but I'd like to find some
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answers. I would search for this topic using social media voting, voting commercials, voting target
for young adults, and social media voting influences.
What I Want to Know: Social Science Lens
There are many persons who are unable to vote in every election. How many people were
barred from voting because they were in jail or on probation or parole? Why are these people not
allowed to cast ballots? What impact would be allowing felons to vote have? Can felons regain
their right to vote? I'll utilize the terms "felon voting rights" and "felon disenfranchisement" to get
the answers to these questions.
What I Want to Know: Natural Science Lens
What are the advantages of voting with our cellphones, given the possibility of electronic
voting from the comfort of one's own home through phone or computer? Is it likely that there will
be further instances of vote fraud? What rights do we lose if we no longer must go to polling places
to exercise them physically? Would this have alleviated or amplified worries about vote rigging in
the previous presidential election? Online voting, voting through cellphones, advantages of online
elections, advantages of voting via cell phone, voting online fraud, and changes in voting rights are
some of the terms I will use in my search.
What I Learned: History Lens
During the Civil War, southern states instituted racially discriminatory voting methods
made illegal by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was signed into law by President Lyndon
Johnson. For many, this also meant passing a literacy test before casting a ballot. As harsh as it may
seem, southern states employed several devices designed to disenfranchise African Americans and
poor whites (MOORE 2019). Although women's voting rights were not included in the articles
provided for my topic, I plan to use the SNHU library to find the information I need. I'm on the
hunt for an article that details the history of women's suffrage and how it came to be.
What I Learned: Humanities Lens
I was hoping the article would tell me whether young people may be swayed to vote by
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social media sites, but I was left wondering. I plan to use the SNHU library and the given search
terms to find the article I need. Voting on social media, voting as a young adult, and the impact of
social media on voting as a young adult will be my keywords. I will resort to online searches if the
library lacks relevant articles, but I will be careful only to use results from reputable sources. It was
disappointing that I could not discover the information I needed using a Google search because I
could not locate any articles from reliable sources.
What I Learned: Social Science Lens
When someone breaks the law and ends up in jail, not only do they lose the right to operate
normally in society, but they also lose the right to vote. Before looking into this subject, I had yet to
gain prior knowledge of the procedure. The legal term for this is "Felon Disenfranchisement"
(YANG 2019). It is the practice of barring criminals from voting, either permanently or for the
duration of incarceration, probation, or parole, as defined by the National Conference of State
Legislatures (NCSL) (YANG 2019). It depends on the state. According to one source, "fourteen
states and the District of Columbia prohibit felons from voting while they are incarcerated but
automatically reinstate voting rights when they are released." In contrast, "twenty-two states
prohibit felons from voting while they are incarcerated and during parole or probation" (YANG
2019). Since they were serving time in prison, nearly six million people were denied the right to
vote in this election.
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What I Learned: Natural Science Lens
After reading Hilaria Orman's article "Online Voting: We Can Do It! (We Have To)," I have a
lot of new knowledge to share with others. It describes how voting has traditionally been done,
which involves visiting a polling location and using paper votes that are scanned into a computer.
She claims in this article that it is more difficult for people to commit fraud because "fraudsters must
exhibit it in person, or fraudster needs to approach the voter." You can read this article here
(ORMAN 2019). While employing traditional voting systems, there is frequently the need for
recounts. That may take a lot of time and money. There are a lot of advantages to voting online, such
as a reduction in the amount of money the government spends on the old-fashioned paper ballot. Is
the old voting method of using paper ballots still an option for those individuals who do not have
access to technology so that they may exercise their rights? People have a lot of reservations about
voting online, and there is a risk of voter fraud happening with internet voting.
Applying the Lenses to Your Topic
My analysis will combine historical and sociological viewpoints. Investigating past events
through a historical lens entails looking into people's actions, accomplishments, the locations of
various artifacts, and how these factors have evolved. When one engages in the study of social
science, one delves into questions about our collective and individual development and how we've
grown as a society and a species. In this sense, we can talk about progress in society.
Voting Rights Through a Historical Lens
Several reforms have been made to expand voting rights to all U.S. residents over the years.
The protection of African Americans' voting rights under the Constitution faces ongoing obstacles.
Historically, poll taxes and literacy tests were used to disenfranchise African Americans in the
South ("The Week in History: February 3, 1870: The 15th Amendment Ratified," n.d.). Even after
the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified, hundreds of voting places, disproportionately concentrated
in communities of color, remained shuttered measures enacted to broaden the scope of democracy
to include previously excluded groups. Qualitative research reveals a different picture, with many
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states restoring discriminatory voting laws in the years after the quantitative study. The fact that we
still had to have a March on Washington for Voting Rights in 2021 shows that the problem has deep
roots in American society.
Voting Rights Through a sociological Lens
As viewed through the lens of social science, the status of voting rights for African
Americans has significantly improved in recent years. African Americans stepped up their efforts to
use their voting rights during the struggle for civil rights in 1964. (Moore, 2021). Approximately 43
percent of African Americans who were eligible to vote were granted the right to do so. This
significant rise can be attributed, in part, to the efforts of the Voter Education Project, which sought
to boost the percentage of African Americans registered to vote in southern states. According to the
figures, this points to a healthy increase in the number of voters registered in African American
communities and other groups of African descent. This represents growth, both qualitatively and
quantitatively, in a favorable direction. Notwithstanding the many obstacles encountered along the
way, the number of African American individuals who actively participate in the electoral process
has greatly increased over the years.
Voting Rights: History and social science Lens Similarities and Differences
Both perspectives place significant weight on the prospective voter as the primary
information gatherer. For the same goal, historical viewpoints rely on first-hand reports regarding
occurrences, but social science research uses data collected from studies. Both perspectives show
that there has been a positive movement towards gaining equal voting rights in American society,
which is another similarity between the two perspectives. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis
methods are utilized in both lenses to guarantee that the perspective constructed on a voting
scenario is as precise as is practically attainable. Both viewpoints rely solely on data that experts
have validated to inform their assessments of human voting behavior. These liberal art lenses
broaden one's perspective on voting rights issues in the United States by presenting a novel
approach to a preexisting challenge. This is accomplished in the same way that other liberal art
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lenses are.
Further Exploration of Voting Rights
It is necessary to conduct additional research on voting rights. Most of the methodologies
described in this paper focus on either qualitative or quantitative methods, and an approach that is
well-balanced will produce a comprehensive picture of the current state of voting rights. A more in-
depth look needs to be taken at the legislation and politics responsible for shaping the current
scenario. I propose conducting audits at multiple polling sites to get an accurate picture of the voter
population. Verification of data accuracy should also be performed on external sources. It is
necessary to use a combination of different lenses to analyze the topic of voting rights. Combining
social science and humanities as a single approach would provide sufficient space for qualitative
and quantitative data.
The combination of these two perspectives results in a hybrid that incorporates both
qualitative and quantitative approaches to collecting and processing data. As part of the process of
including everyone, the humanities will also ensure that the appropriate information regarding
African American culture is comprehended and appreciated. The use of numerical data is
emphasized in social science, which increases the study's precision and reliability—two qualities
necessary for peer review. Is there a predominant age range among the voters? The participation of
a greater number of African Americans in the voting process has had what kind of impact on the
social interactions with other societies? All these questions are necessary to thoroughly evaluate the
current situation of voting rights in the nation, particularly regarding the rights of minorities in the
United States.
Conclusion
Despite the government's best efforts to address discrimination at its root, voting rights still
spark heated debate in modern American culture. Understanding the underlying currents that create
our culture and our lives as individuals is made possible through studying the liberal arts. Yet, it is
important to note that these strategies are insufficient. By combining the strengths of multiple
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lenses, you can get a comprehensive overview of a situation from both a quantitative and
qualitative perspective.
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Work Cited
Haught, J. F. (2011). Natural science. In I. A. McFarland, D. A. S. Fergusson, K. Kilby, & et. al.
(Eds.), Cambridge dictionary of Christian theology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press.
Moore, W. V. (2019).
Voting rights act of 1965
. In
Salem Press Encyclopedia
. Salem Press.
Orman, H. (2019).
Online voting: We can do it! (We have to)
.
Communications of the ACM,
62(
9), 25-27.
The Week in History: 1870: The 15th Amendment Ratified. (2020).
Read to Know
,
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(20), NA.
Web.
Wahl, K. (2018).
Purity and parity: The white dress of the suffrage movement in early twentieth-
century Britain
. In J. Faiers & M. W. Bulgarella (Eds.),
Colors in Fashion
(pp. 21-34).
Bloomsbury.
Yang, E. (2019).
Ensuring access to the ballot box
.
Insights on Law & Society, 20(
1), 20-25.
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