Universal suffrage

Universal suffrage (also general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of suffrage, or the right to vote, to all adults, without distinction as to race, sex, belief or social status.

Other disenfranchisement

Some so-called "universal" suffrage systems still exclude some potential voters. For example, some jurisdictions deny the vote to various categories of convicted criminals or the mentally ill, and almost all jurisdictions deny the vote to non-citizen residents and citizens under the age of 18. Similarly, some systems of "universal" suffrage, including some of those below, have excluded those who were too poor to pay any (direct) taxes, or received public assistance.

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There is some friendly nationalist competition with regard to which nation that was first with full-blown democratic suffrage. Fans of the United States, New Zealand, Finland and Norway all have their arguments for why their favorite nation is to be seen as the front-runner, which is indicated in the table below.

Related Topics:
Nationalist - Nation - United States - New Zealand - Finland - Norway

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