Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). The right to run for office is sometimes called candidate eligibility, and the combination of both rights is sometimes called full suffrage. In many languages, the right to vote is called the active right to vote and the right to run for office is called the passive right to vote. In English, these are sometimes called active suffrage and passive suffrage.
Suffrage is often conceived in terms of elections for representatives. However, suffrage applies equally to referenda and initiatives. Suffrage describes not only the legal right to vote, but also the practical question of whether a question will be put to a vote. The utility of suffrage is reduced when important questions are decided unilaterally by elected or non-elected representatives.
In most democracies, eligible voters can vote in elections of representatives. Voting on issues by referendum may also be available. For example, in Switzerland this is permitted at all levels of government. In the United States, some states such as California and Washington have exercised their shared sovereignty to offer citizens the opportunity to write, propose, and vote on referendums and initiatives; other states have not. The United States federal government does not offer any initiatives at all.
Elder Hall was home to a moment in history last night, bringing together powerful and prominent Australian female figures to celebrate 130 years of women's suffrage in South Australia, coinciding with the University of Adelaide's 150th anniversary.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Step inside a living tribute to the women who fought for our right to vote. the 1920 Merch Co., now open in Union Station this August. This groundbreaking store is more than just a ... .
Just steps from Hodgin Hall, where she worked as the first professionally trained librarian in the University of New Mexico's history, a trailhead marker honoring the life and legacy of women's suffrage leader Julia Brown Asplund will stand.
After all, the 19th Amendment itself failed to provide access to the ballot box for Black women, nor did it include nationwide suffrage for American Indian women ... This Women's Suffrage/ Women's ...
THE Philippines commemorated this year the 87th anniversary of Filipino women's right to suffrage by holding a forum on the challenges faced by Filipinas in overseas voting ... entitled "Beyond Suffrage.