The Fourteenth Amendment contains a safeguard for voting rights that has remained largely dormant for more than 150 years.
What happens when a constitutional protection exists on paper, but is rarely enforced?
Join the Center for Civic Education on Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m. ET for the first webinar of the 2026-27 series, Fourteenth Amendment, Section Two: Representation, Voting Rights, and Constitutional Enforcement.
Section Two of the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to protect representative government by reducing a state’s representation in Congress if it denied eligible citizens the right to vote. Yet despite its sweeping implications, the provision has largely gone unused.
Filmmaker Todd Drezner and attorney Jared Pettinato will explore this often-overlooked section of the Constitution and discuss Fourteen Section Two, a documentary-in-progress following an effort to revive its enforcement.
Together, we’ll examine the history behind Section Two, its relationship to voting rights and congressional representation, and a larger question at the heart of constitutional democracy: What happens when constitutional safeguards are ignored or left unenforced?
For teachers, the conversation doesn’t end with constitutional history. The webinar will also feature a classroom-ready Civic Inquiry lesson examining the expansion of voting rights and the continuing effort to ensure equal participation in representative government.
Participants will leave with practical strategies for helping students investigate constitutional change, democratic inclusion, and the ongoing work of making constitutional principles meaningful in practice.
HRE USA is a project of the Center for Transformative Action.