Só é possível entender os movimentos políticos dos últimos 200 anos se tivermos consciência de que a nossa atual democracia é uma conquista recente, e que no passado a situação era bastante distinta.
-----Reino Unido:
Reform Act 1832 - extended voting rights to adult males who rented propertied land of a certain value, so allowing 1 in 7 males in the UK voting rights
Reform Act 1867 - enfranchised all male householders, so increasing male suffrage to the United Kingdom
Representation of the People Act 1884 - amended the Reform Act of 1867 so that it would apply equally to the countryside; this brought the voting population to 5,500,000, although 40% of males were still disenfranchised, whilst women could not vote
Between 1885-1918 moves were made by the suffragette movement to ensure votes for women. However the duration of the First World War stopped this reform movement. See also The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918.
Representation of the People Act 1918 - the consequences of the First World War convinced the government to expand the right to vote, not only for the many men who fought in the war who were disenfranchised, but also for the women who helped in the factories and elsewhere as part of the war effort. Property restrictions for voting were lifted for men, who could vote at 21; however women's votes were given with these property restriction, and were limited to those over 30 years old. This raised the electorate from 7.7 million to 21.4 million with women making up 40% of the electorate. 7% of the electorate had more than one vote. The first election with this system was the United Kingdom general election, 1918
Representation of the People Act 1928 - this made women's voting rights equal with men, with voting possible at 21 with no property restrictions
Representation of the People Act 1948 - the act was passed to prevent plural voting
Representation of the People Act 1969 - extension of suffrage to those over 18
The Representation of the People Acts of 1983, 1985 and 2000 further modified voting
-----Estados Unidos:
- 15th Amendment (1870): no law may restrict any race from voting
- 19th Amendment (1920): no law may restrict any sex from voting
- 23rd Amendment (1961): residents of the District of Columbia can vote for the President
- 24th Amendment (1964): neither Congress nor the states may condition the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other type of tax
- 26th Amendment (1971): no law may restrict those above 18 years of age from voting because of their age
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