Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people who are bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the "one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion of the young and non-citizens (among others),[1][2][3] while some insist that more inclusion is needed before suffrage can be truly universal.[4] Democratic theorists, especially those hoping to achieve more universal suffrage, support presumptive inclusion, where the legal system would protect the voting rights of all subjects unless the government can clearly prove that disenfranchisement is necessary.[5] Universal full suffrage includes both the right to vote, also called active suffrage, and right to be elected, also called passive suffrage.[6]
States have granted and revoked universal suffrage at various times.
Note: this chart does not indicate periods of autocratic rule (when voting has little or no power).
Since historically one group or another might have lost suffrage rights only to regain them later on, this table lists the last uninterrupted time from the present a group was granted the right to vote if that group's suffrage has been fully restored.