1. The right pertaining to citizenship, to vote for such officers as are elected by the people, is called suffrage. When that right is acquired with respect to one class of officers it always extends to the whole, from petty town or city officials, to high officers of the State and United States government—all, in short, who obtain office directly from the people. 2. The Constitution defines who shall be regarded as citizens of the United States, and all such are declared by it to be also citizens of the State in which they reside. It declares “all persons, born, or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction” to be citizens. Indian tribes are mostly regarded as foreign nations, and have such rights as treaties give them, but are not taxed and do not vote; therefore they are not regarded as citizens.
3. Yet suffrage does not belong to all citizens. The special regulation of the voting prerogative was not assumed by the Constitution, nor delegated to Congress, and it is generally conceded that it belongs to the State governments. The regulations in the States are not uniform, but in no State do women or minors vote. This cuts off a large part of the citizens, nearly three-fourths belonging to these classes. Minors are supposed, however, to be represented, as to their interests, by their guardians, and females by husbands or brothers. Some of the States make minor restrictions as to length of residence in the State, and require a certain amount of property to constitute a voter, and in some naturalization is not required—so that the range of the right of suffrage varies within small limits, in different States. Whatever rule is adopted by the States has been accepted as the basis of suffrage for that State by the general government, when members of Congress and President and Vice-President are voted for.
4. It seems to be a loose point in the regulations, otherwise so admirable, since it may work a considerable inequality[563] under given circumstances; and, in some cases, might change the policy of the government. It is a question worthy of consideration whether there should not be an amendment to the Constitution establishing uniformity of suffrage in all the States. This point has caused much discussion in the State governments and various changes have been, from time to time, made in many of them. These have been, usually, in the direction of liberality—tending to enlarge the scope of suffrage. The property qualification, quite common in earlier times, is now rare. The fifteenth amendment, recently adopted, has largely increased the number of voters.
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