Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums. In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vote is called active suffrage, as distinct from passive suffrage, which is the right to stand for election. The combination of active and passive suffrage is sometimes called full suffrage.
People queuing and showing their identity document for voting in the 2014 Indian general election
German election poster from 1919: Equal rights – equal duties!
A British postcard against women's suffrage postcard from c. 1908. It shows unflattering caricatures of suffragettes in front of parliament and the caption: "This is the house that man built" with a poem. From the People's History Museum, Manchester.
Women's Suffrage Headquarters on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1912
Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, convenes together for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holders of high office by voting. Residents of a jurisdiction represented by an elected official are called "constituents", and the constituents who choose to cast a ballot for their chosen candidate are called "voters." There are different systems for collecting votes, but while many of the systems used in decision-making can also be used as electoral systems, any which cater to proportional representation can only be used in elections.
In Switzerland, without the need to register, every citizen receives at home the ballot papers and information brochure for each voting (and can send it by post). Switzerland has a direct democracy system and votes (and elections) are organized about four times a year; here, to Berne's citizens in November 2008 about 5 national, 2 cantonal, 4 municipal referendums, and 2 elections (government and parliament of the City of Berne) to take care of at the same time.
Young woman's first vote. Cooktown, Australia.
Ballot letters in Israel
Image: Papeletareferendum 2006
