Problems in American Democracy

by Thames Williamson

In every state voters must be at least 21 years of age. In a few states the vote is extended to aliens who have declared their intention of becoming citizens. In every state a period of residence is required of voters, the usual period being between six months and a year. Educational qualifications are imposed in about a third of the states. A number of southern and a few northern states require voters to be assessed for a poll tax. In practically every state such abnormal persons as the feeble-minded, the insane, paupers in institutions, and certain types of criminals are excluded from the suffrage. Untaxed Indians, and foreign-born Chinese and Japanese do not enjoy the suffrage.

416. PRESENT STATUS OF THE SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT.—The suffrage movement has steadily increased the number of potential voters until at the present time there are more than 30,000,000 persons in the United States who are entitled to the vote. The important groups of the adult population have been enfranchised, but the suffrage movement still involves important problems. In view of our changing attitude toward the suffrage we face four unanswered questions:

First, should the present restrictions on the suffrage be lowered? Second, should they be made more severe? Third, in view of the fact that naturalization automatically makes voters of many individuals, to what extent ought the grant of citizenship to be determined by the individual's promise as a voter? Fourth, what should be our attitude toward Negro suffrage?

Let us summarize the fundamental considerations which must be borne in mind in discussing the four problems suggested above. This done, we may briefly consider the most pressing of these questions, i.e. that involving Negro suffrage.

417. THE SUFFRAGE IS A PRIVILEGE AND NOT RIGHT.—The significance of the difference between citizenship and the suffrage should be clearly understood. Citizenship is a fundamental matter. In return for allegiance to his government, the citizen may be considered as being entitled to that measure of protection which is deemed necessary to his safety and well-being. But though we speak loosely of the "right" of suffrage, the suffrage is a privilege, not a right. The individual cannot claim it as a corollary of citizenship. Nor does mere residence in a democratic country entitle the individual to the ballot. The safety and well-being of the citizen are not necessarily dependent upon his exercise of the vote. Indeed, incapable persons may be better off if they are excluded from the suffrage, provided, of course, that the voting class holds itself responsible for the government of the excluded groups. Fitness alone justifies the suffrage.

418. WHAT CONSTITUTES FITNESS?—The ballot cannot be exercised by the unfit without endangering the whole fabric of government. But what is the standard of fitness? The history of the suffrage in the United States throws some light upon this question. In colonial times the plea of the propertied classes was that fitness was primarily a matter of racial origin, the ownership of property, or church affiliation. According to the theory of natural rights, fitness was vaguely associated with manhood and citizenship. More recently we have come to believe that while many factors influence the capacity of the voter, such factors as religion, racial origin, and ownership of substantial amounts of property, are not vital. A definite standard of fitness has never been established, but at least we can say that fitness means both the desire and the capacity to serve the state by an honest and intelligent use of the ballot.

419. THE QUESTION OF NEGRO SUFFRAGE.—We are beginning to suspect that the attention attracted by Negro suffrage is due, not so much to the injustice of disfranchising the Negro as to the spectacular circumstances surrounding the American Negro. It is unjust, of course, to exclude the Negro from the vote merely because of his race. But exclusion of Negroes not qualified to make an intelligent use of the ballot is no more unfair than are the educational tests imposed by many northern states. To exclude illiterate Negroes from the vote, and at the same time to allow illiterate whites the ballot, is, on the other hand, manifestly unfair. But far more productive of good than debating this unfairness is the attempt to fit the Negro for the vote as a prerequisite to his exercise of it. During this preparation the Negro should have before him the incentive of securing the ballot when he has made sufficient progress in education and civic responsibility.

420. PROBLEM OF AN INTELLIGENT ELECTORATE.—The problem of building up an intelligent electorate gives rise to two additional questions: First, how may the enfranchised classes be trained to a full realization of their civic responsibilities? Second, to what extent is intelligent voting dependent upon actual exercise of the suffrage? The first question has been treated elsewhere, and we may close this chapter with a brief consideration of the second question.

It is maintained by some that no one should be admitted to the suffrage who has not first demonstrated his capacity to use the vote intelligently. Others reply that this capacity comes only through actual exercise of the vote. The solution of this problem probably lies in a judicious combination of theory and practice. A boy cannot learn to swim by standing on the bank and forever listening to theoretical instruction; on the other hand, it may prove fatal to push him into deep water without preparation for that step. Instruction and practice must go hand in hand, wisely interwoven and harmonized.

Similarly, it would seem, one way to secure an intelligent electorate is to admit individuals to the suffrage only when they demonstrate a minimum capacity for civic service, but at the same time to recognize that full moral development can come only through actual exercise of the vote.