Suffrage consists of the public right to vote and be voted, according to the Federal Constitution. The suffrage represents a form of citizen's manifestation before the decisions of public life and political society.
The act of voting is the main instrument of suffrage, with regard to the public right of a political nature of every citizen. In a democratic nation, where power emanates from the people, suffrage is the way used to express this type of right of the population.
The suffrage can be further divided into two categories: direct suffrage (when leading to immediate election) or indirect suffrage (when delegates are chosen who will represent the population in a direct election).
Etymologically, the word suffrage originated from the Latin suffrage, which literally means "vote".
know more about Vote and Scrutiny.
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage is the opposite of restricted suffrage. Represents the right of all citizens, without restrictions, to participate in political decisions of the nation.
The only condition for universal suffrage is that the individual is intellectually mature, that is, already an adult. In Brazil, for example, the obligation to vote is only applied to people over 18 years of age.
In the current Brazilian Federal Constitution, according to article 14, suffrage is universal, that is, a right that belongs to all citizens:
"(art. nº 14) Popular sovereignty will be exercised by universal suffrage and by direct and secret vote, with equal value for all, and, under the terms of the law, through: I - plebiscite; II - referendum; III - popular initiative".
See the meaning of Universal suffrage.
women's suffrage
It consisted of a political and social movement, with democratic ideas, which aimed to extend suffrage to women, that is, making them also able to exercise the right to vote. Previously, suffrage was restricted to males only.
The first nation to guarantee women's suffrage was New Zealand, in 1893, through the movement led by Kate Sheppard.
In Brazil, women's right to vote was only guaranteed after Decree no. 21,076, of February 24, 1932, signed by Getúlio Vargas.
Restricted Suffrage
Unlike universal suffrage, the restricted one imposes some special conditions so that individuals can enjoy the right to vote.
- Census suffrage: limits the right to vote depending on the person's economic capacity. For example, beggars and low-income individuals could not vote.
- Capacitative suffrage: limits the right to vote depending on the person's intellectual capacity. For example, women were not considered intellectually fit to vote, so this was not an act granted to women.
In the current Brazilian Constitution (and that of most of the world's nations), restricted suffrage came into disuse. Currently, all citizens must have the same right to vote, regardless of ethnicity, gender, belief or social class.
Learn more about meaning of the census vote.