--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every American citizen must have an equal…" description: "\"Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote. There is no reason which can excuse the denial of that right. There is no duty which weighs mo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c15/lyndon-b-johnson-684_american-citizen_every-american-citizen-must-have-an-equa_1591210.png" --- # Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote… ![“Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote. There is no reason which can excuse the denial of that right. There is no duty which weighs more heavily on us than the duty we have to ensure that right.” quote by Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c15/lyndon-b-johnson-684_american-citizen_every-american-citizen-must-have-an-equa_1591210.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c15/lyndon-b-johnson-684_american-citizen_every-american-citizen-must-have-an-equa_1591210.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c15/lyndon-b-johnson-684_american-citizen_every-american-citizen-must-have-an-equa_1591210.png) > “Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote. There is no reason which can excuse the denial of that right. There is no duty which weighs more heavily on us than the duty we have to ensure that right.” [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Everyone deserves the right to vote and protecting it is our highest duty. **In simple terms:** Voting is a right and duty. Key Takeaway Defend voting rights fiercely. Themes democracy rights citizenship responsibility Mood determined urgent Type political inspirational When to use this quote - elections - legislation - community organizing - education Key Concepts civil rights political theory Questions to Reflect On - What barriers prevent voting? - How to balance security and access? A Different Perspective Ensuring rights can clash with security concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American citizen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-citizen/) [American citizens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-citizens/) [Denial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denial/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Right to vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-to-vote/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) [Voting rights act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voting-rights-act/) ## Related quotes > [This right to vote is the basic right without which all others are meaningless. It gives people, people as individuals, control over their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/this-right-to-vote-is-the-basic-right-without-which-all-others-are/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [There is no Constitutional issue here. The command of the Constitution is plain. There is no moral issue. It is wrong - deadly wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-no-constitutional-issue-here-the-command-of-the-constitution/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Racial discrimination in elections in Texas is no mere historical artifact. To the contrary, Texas has been found in violation of the Voting Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/racial-discrimination-in-elections-in-texas-is-no-mere-historical/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [ Her \[Jurdge Sandra Day O'Connor\] judgment has also been critical in protecting our environmental rights. She joined in 5-4 majorities affirming reproductive freedom and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-leahy/her-jurdge-sandra-day-o-connor-judgment-has-also-been-critical-in/) [Patrick Leahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-leahy/) > [It's time for Congress to act, restore the Voting Rights Act, and take action to prevent voter disenfranchisem ent. As your next Congresswoman, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-adams/it-s-time-for-congress-to-act-restore-the-voting-rights-act-and-take/) [Alma Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-adams/) > [The Civil Rights Act of 1964 laid the foundation for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but it also addressed nearly every other aspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/the-civil-rights-act-of-1964-laid-the-foundation-for-the-voting/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [President Lyndon Johnson's high spirits were marked as he circulated among the many guests whom he had invited to witness an event he confidently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/president-lyndon-johnson-s-high-spirits-were-marked-as-he-circulated/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [To be elected president, you have to do more than tear down your opponents. You have to give the American people a reason to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-dewine/to-be-elected-president-you-have-to-do-more-than-tear-down-your/) [Mike DeWine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-dewine/) > [At times history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man's unending search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/at-times-history-and-fate-meet-at-a-single-time-in-a-single-place-to/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [There is no issue of States' rights or National rights. There is only the struggle for human rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-no-issue-of-states-rights-or-national-rights-there-is-only/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [America is a great country. It has a lot of work to do. The bottom line is it's easy to talk; it's easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-brown/america-is-a-great-country-it-has-a-lot-of-work-to-do-the-bottom-line/) [Jim Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-brown/) > [It is of course one of the great joys of our country, a beacon of democracy that the world admires, that every citizen is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-miller/it-is-of-course-one-of-the-great-joys-of-our-country-a-beacon-of/) [Gina Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-miller/) > [A library is a place that is a repository of information and gives every citizen equal access to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/a-library-is-a-place-that-is-a-repository-of-information-and-gives-2/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [To me, it's not necessarily about whom you vote for, it's more about the fact that you go out and exercise that right. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-griffin-iii/to-me-it-s-not-necessarily-about-whom-you-vote-for-it-s-more-about/) [Robert Griffin III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-griffin-iii/) > [When they wrote the Constitution, only white male landowners had the right to vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/when-they-wrote-the-constitution-only-white-male-landowners-had-the/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) ## More by Lyndon B. Johnson > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject itself, or know where to find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/knowledge-is-of-two-kinds-we-know-a-subject-itself-or-know-where-to/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [We come to reason, not to dominate. We do not seek to have our way, but to find a common way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/we-come-to-reason-not-to-dominate-we-do-not-seek-to-have-our-way-but/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I have learned that only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. First, let her think she's having her own way. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-have-learned-that-only-two-things-are-necessary-to-keep-one-s-wife/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [For me, it is a deep personal tragedy. I know that the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/for-me-it-is-a-deep-personal-tragedy-i-know-that-the-world-shares-the/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Today, 8 million adult Americans, more than the entire population of Michigan, have not finished 5 years of school. Nearly 20 million have not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/today-8-million-adult-americans-more-than-the-entire-population-of/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Republicans simply don't know how to manage the economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/republicans-simply-don-t-know-how-to-manage-the-economy/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I don't believe I'll ever get credit for anything I do in foreign affairs, no matter how successful it is, because I didn't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-don-t-believe-i-ll-ever-get-credit-for-anything-i-do-in-foreign/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [There are no favorites in my office. I treat them all with the same general inconsideration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-are-no-favorites-in-my-office-i-treat-them-all-with-the-same/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I'm the only president you've got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-m-the-only-president-you-ve-got/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [I am afraid, ... that health begins, after seventy, and often long before, to have a meaning different from that which it had at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/i-am-afraid-that-health-begins-after-seventy-and-often-long-before-to/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [The family is the corner stone of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/the-family-is-the-corner-stone-of-our-society/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Never make a speech at a country dance or a football game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/never-make-a-speech-at-a-country-dance-or-a-football-game/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Our society is illuminated by the spiritual insights of the Hebrew prophets. America and Israel have a common love of human freedom and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/our-society-is-illuminated-by-the-spiritual-insights-of-the-hebrew/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) [Explore all 411 Lyndon B. Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) ## More American citizen quotes > [The sheer evil of antisemitism, left unchecked, has evolved and grown into an ever more virulent hatred, one that no American citizen should ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-britt/the-sheer-evil-of-antisemitism-left-unchecked-has-evolved-and-grown/) [Katie Britt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-britt/) > [Once you step foot on the Supreme Court steps, you lose your first-amendment rights. I don't see how, as an American citizen, you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheem-devaughn/once-you-step-foot-on-the-supreme-court-steps-you-lose-your-first/) [Raheem DeVaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheem-devaughn/) > [The typical American citizen is the business man. The typical business man is a bad citizen; he is busy. If he is a 'big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-steffens/the-typical-american-citizen-is-the-business-man-the-typical-business/) [Lincoln Steffens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-steffens/) > [1920 was an auspicious year for a young person to enter the world as an American citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/1920-was-an-auspicious-year-for-a-young-person-to-enter-the-world-as/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [I am an Iranian by birth and of my Islamic faith. I am also an American Citizen and I seek to help change America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-jarrett/i-am-an-iranian-by-birth-and-of-my-islamic-faith-i-am-also-an/) [Valerie Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-jarrett/) > [As long as my record stands in federal court, any American citizen can be held in prison or concentration camps without trial or hearing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-korematsu/as-long-as-my-record-stands-in-federal-court-any-american-citizen-can/) [Fred Korematsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-korematsu/) > [It was a really big deal to become an American citizen the right way. You have to work really hard, and it is such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-alves/it-was-a-really-big-deal-to-become-an-american-citizen-the-right-way/) [Camila Alves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-alves/) > [I'm a writer. In Latin America, they say I'm a Latin-American writer because I also write in Spanish and my books are translated, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-m-a-writer-in-latin-america-they-say-i-m-a-latin-american-writer/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I'm not a doctor, nor am I a member of the military. What I am is an appreciative, concerned American citizen, who was horrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wahl/i-m-not-a-doctor-nor-am-i-a-member-of-the-military-what-i-am-is-an/) [Ken Wahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wahl/) > [When I became an American citizen, nothing's changed because I'm still Asian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-o-yang/when-i-became-an-american-citizen-nothing-s-changed-because-i-m-still/) [Jimmy O. Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-o-yang/) > [Finding the Russian scientists may be a problem being that Russia does not have a Social Security System, as here in America, that allows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/finding-the-russian-scientists-may-be-a-problem-being-that-russia/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [I'm obviously an American citizen. My parents are American citizens. But I'm not looked at as an American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-castillo/i-m-obviously-an-american-citizen-my-parents-are-american-citizens/) [Ana Castillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-castillo/) > [I'm not an American citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-browder/i-m-not-an-american-citizen/) [Bill Browder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-browder/) > [I wanted to participate in the political responsibilities of an American citizen. I wanted to vote. I wanted to be a full member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/i-wanted-to-participate-in-the-political-responsibilities-of-an/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [Politics is the practical exercise of the art of self-government, and somebody must attend to it if we are to have self-government; somebody must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elihu-root/politics-is-the-practical-exercise-of-the-art-of-self-government-and/) [Elihu Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elihu-root/) [Browse all 168 American citizen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-citizen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote. There is no reason which can excuse the denial of that right. There is no duty which weighs more heavily on us than the duty we have to ensure that right.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lyndon B. 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