Suffrage
Suffrage is the right to vote in political elections. In the United States, constitutional amendments and federal and state laws have expanded and regulated voting rights over time. Legal voting rights and practical access to voting are related but distinct questions.
Suffrage is the right to vote in political elections. In the United States, constitutional amendments and federal and state laws have expanded and regulated voting rights over time. Legal voting rights and practical access to voting are related but distinct questions.
Example: The Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920, prohibited denying the right to vote on the basis of sex. Its ratification followed decades of organizing by the women’s suffrage movement, though discriminatory barriers continued to prevent many women from voting.
Common misconception: The Nineteenth Amendment immediately removed every barrier to voting for all women. Race, citizenship, and other discriminatory restrictions continued to block many eligible voters until later legal and political changes.
Sources: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment; https://www.archives.gov/women/suffrage