What does the 15th Amendment prohibit?

• A. Denial of the right to vote on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
• B. Denial of the right to vote on the basis of sex.
• C. Denial of the right to vote on the basis of age.
• D. Denial of the right to vote on the basis of residency.

Answer: (A)

The main idea this item tests is that the 15th Amendment protects the right to vote by prohibiting denial based on race, color, or a prior condition of servitude. This is exactly what the option describing denial of the vote because of race addresses, making it the best choice. The 15th Amendment was adopted after the Civil War to ensure that formerly enslaved individuals could vote, although in practice other obstacles persisted for decades. By contrast, denying the vote because of sex is illegal under the 19th Amendment, denying because of age is addressed by the 26th Amendment, and residency rules aren’t the prohibited basis targeted by the 15th Amendment.