319F Fall 2026 The Vote: Then and Now

How important is the right to vote in America and to know that one’s vote is meaningful? Those are questions that have intrigued historians for many generations. And yet, this basic right is not embedded within the original Constitution of the United States. Instead, it was addressed only by the states and in eight subsequent amendments to the federal Constitution, telling us how very fundamental it actually is in the exercise of citizenship. How voting rights were perceived by the Founding Fathers before, during, and after the Constitution’s establishment, especially how the first of those eight amendments—the 12th and that unusual animal called the Electoral College—has worked and evolved over the last two-plus centuries will be the course’s focus.

David Cain is a Fairfax County election officer (since 2022), and is a former intelligence officer in the U.S. government, including six years as an instructor-course manager. He has BA (History) and MA (Political Science) degrees from Ohio University.