How has the Supreme Court interpreted the right of citizens to vote under the Fifteenth Amendment?

Under the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, citizens are guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This amendment was ratified in 1870 and since then has been interpreted by the Supreme Court in various decisions. In 1965, the Supreme Court issued the decision in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections which determined that any fee or tax imposed as a condition of voting was unconstitutional, effectively eliminating the "poll tax". The Court reasoned that the right to vote could not be denied because a citizen was unable to pay a fee. In 1966, the Supreme Court further established the "one-man, one-vote" principle in the case of Reynolds v. Sims. This decision held that states must draw legislative districts that are roughly equal in population, so that every citizen’s vote is given equal weight. This means that a state cannot draw districts that heavily favor one party or region over the other. In a 2013 decision, Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court held that a section of the Voting Rights Act which called for areas with a history of racial discrimination to obtain preclearance from the Department of Justice was unconstitutional. This decision was highly controversial as critics felt that it would impede the ability of minority voters to cast their ballots. The Fifteenth Amendment has been interpreted by the Supreme Court in a number of ways over the years, all of which have served to protect the right of citizens to vote.

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How has the Supreme Court interpreted the right of citizens to vote under the Fifteenth Amendment?

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