Grandfather clauses are commonly used in creating new zoning ordinances and city or state statutes. Grandfather Clause in Statutes or Zoning Ordinances In either case, the exemption would not apply to a new owner, if the business was sold. This is done by exempting such entities from compliance for a limited time period, or revoking the exemption in the event the entity, such as a factory, expands or remodels.

Limitations to the grandfather clause form the basis for being able to compromise in passing new legislation and regulations without creating a financially difficult situation for existing entities. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed the use of poll taxes in any election, and ensured the rights of every American citizen to vote.

After the ruling, many poor Southern white people were able to vote, but the majority of blacks continued to be unable to vote. Eventually, these clauses, as they applied to the right to vote, were determined to be unconstitutional in the U.S. Some states offered an exemption to this prohibition to individuals whose ancestors, or “grandfathers,” had the right to vote prior to a specified date, usually the end of the Civil War. The goal of these new laws was to prevent poor, illiterate African-American former slaves from voting, while not denying poor, illiterate whites the voting right. These new standards included literacy tests, residence and property restrictions, and the payment of poll taxes for those wishing to vote. In the late 19th century, many Southern states passed laws, and made amendments to their state constitutions, creating new standards for voting rights.

Grandfather clause history definition