← Legal Glossary
Enforcement Power
Definition
The authority granted to Congress under Section 2 of the Fifteenth Amendment and Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to pass legislation enforcing those amendments' guarantees. This power allows Congress to go beyond what the amendments prohibit by their own force, such as enacting effects-based tests rather than requiring proof of intentional discrimination.
Examples
- •Robinson appellants argued Congress's enforcement power authorizes the effects-based results test in Section 2, which need not merely parrot the Fifteenth Amendment's intent requirement.