Suffrage
Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, mean-
ing "voting tablet", and figuratively "right to
vote", and originally a term for the pastern
bone used to cast votes) is the civil right to
vote, or the exercise of that right. In that con-
text, it is also called political franchise or
simply the franchise. Suffrage is very valu-
able to the extent that there are opportunit-
ies to vote (e.g., initiatives, referendums, or
elections). Therefore, suffrage varies on 2 in-
dependent dimensions: who is eligible to vote
and voting opportunities. Suffrage was also a
part of the Jacksonian democracy.
In most democracies, eligible voters can
vote in elections of representatives. Voting
on substantiate issues via initiative may be
available in some jurisdictions but not others.
For example, Switzerland permits initiatives
at all levels of government whereas United
States does not offer initiatives at the federal
level or in many states. That new constitu-
tions must be approved by referendum is
considered a de facto natural law.
Typically citizens become eligible to vote
after reaching the age of legal adulthood.
Most democracies no longer extend different
voting rights on the basis of sex or race. Res-
ident aliens can vote in some countries and in
others exceptions are made for citizens of
countries with which they have close links
(e.g. some members of the Commonwealth of
Nations, and the members of the European
Union).
Types of suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage is the term used to de-
scribe a problem in which the right to vote is
not restricted by race, gender, belief, wealth
or social status. It typically does not extend a
right to vote to all residents of a region; dis-
tinctions are frequently made in regard to cit-
izenship, age, and occasionally mental capa-
city or criminal convictions.
The
short-lived
Corsican
Republic
(1755-1769) was the first country to grant
limited universal suffrage for all inhabitants
over the age of 25. This was followed by
other experiments in the Paris Commune of
1871 an