Suffrage

Suffrage is the civil right to vote, or the exercise of that right. In that context it is also called political franchise or simply the franchise, a term dating from the time when the Franks of ancient France were free.

Related Topics:
Civil right - Vote

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Historically, many groups have been excluded from the right to vote, on various grounds or simply because their members were 'subjects' of feudal kings & princes and not 'free' men. Sometimes this exclusion was an explicit policy, clearly stated in the electoral laws; at other times it was implemented in practice by provisions that may seem to have little to do with the exclusion actually being implemented (e.g. poll taxes and literacy requirements used to keep African-Americans in the pre-Civil Rights Era American South from voting). In other cases a group has been permitted to vote, but the electoral system or institutions of government were purposely designed to give them less influence than other more favored groups (see District of Columbia voting rights.)

Related Topics:
Poll tax - African-Americans - Civil Rights Era - American South - District of Columbia voting rights

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The legitimacy of democratic government is usually considered to derive primarily from suffrage.

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