universal suffrage

Question 1

what is universal suffrage

Answer 1

• the right to vote for all

Question 2

early movements of universal suffrage

Answer 2

DEMOCRACY
- idea that all people are involved in governing a country
- exercised through voting
- as the concept of democracy evolved, as did people’s desire to have universal suffrage

VOTING FOR MEN
- in colonial times, voting was restricted to landholders
- USA extended its vote to all men in 1870 –> Australia followed in 1901 –> UK following suit in 1918
- however, these often did not apply to indigenous men or marginalised groups

Question 3

voting for women

Answer 3

SUFFRAGETTE MOVEMENT
- late 19th to early 20th century large campaign for women to vote
- tactics ranged from peaceful protests to hunger strikes and setting off bombs
- this spread throughout the world and led to great reforms

REFORMS
- new zealand, first country to allow all women to vote in 1893 –> followed by Australia in 1902 –> AMerica in 1920–> Uk in 1928

Question 4

voting for all ethnicities

Answer 4

reforms often only extended to the white or colonising people of the country

AUSTRALIA
- when Australia passed its reforms to allow White Australian women to vote, the same legislation effectively barred indigenous from voting unless they had registered years earlier. As most indigenous ppl were unaware of their rights, most of the indigenous population did not register and thus could not vote
- this led to a campaign for suffrage for indigenous people
- led to the COmmonwealth Electoral Act in 1962 where it became optional for Indigenous people to vote, and finally became compulsory after changes in 1983

USA
- while all men of all races were given the right to vote in the 1870, marginalising requirements limited these (e.g. literary tests/ moral character tests barred POC from voting)
- US Civil Rights Movement protests to remove these requirements
- Voting Rights Act 1965 passed whcih prevents racial discrimination in voting

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
- 21st article: right for citizens to take part in the government of their country through freely chosen representatives

Question 5

grey areas in universal suffrage

Answer 5

• ## only 24 fully recognised democracies (51 authoritarian regimes)

Question 6

international recogniiton of universal suffrage

Answer 6

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
- 21st article: right for citizens to take part in the government of their country through freely chosen representatives

ICCPR
- Article 1: right to vote is recognised