The United States Constitution has no provision guaranteeing the right of every citizen to vote. In the days of the founding fathers, of course, voting was essentially restricted to the property-owning elite, but all legislation on the subject since those days has been about the expansion of voting rights. Jump below the squiggly thingy for more.
Until recently, anyway. Ever since Paul Weyrich's infamous Goo-Goo syndrome speech (http://crooksandliars.com/...) the Right has concluded that they're better off when turnout is minimized. And so, with the help (or perhaps more accurately, at the urging) of the fascist American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Republican't-controlled states have been passing laws that are clearly designed to keep some citizens away from the polls.
One thing I find amazing is how many states have decided to move ahead with such legislation just this year, with the presidential race looming. One might think that, in the interest of fairness (HAH! - when has THAT been a concern of the Right?), such bills should have either been introduced a couple of years ago, or should not take immediate effect, to allow people the necessary time (at least a year, if not longer) to obtain the required documentation. But, I digress ...
The Citizen's United ruling by SCOTUS has many talking about a Constitutional Amendment to cement into law what many of us consider patently obvious - i. e., that corporations are NOT people, and that money is NOT speech. Perhaps while we're at it, we might want to add a provision plainly stating that ALL citizens have a Constitutionally-protected and inalienable right to vote.