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Appendix H
SUMMARY OF THE QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS
IN THE UNITED STATES
All the states agree in granting the right of voting at the age of twenty-one. In all of them it is
necessary to have resided for a certain time in the district where the vote is cast. This period
varies from three months to two years.
As to qualifications, in the state of Massachusetts it is necessary to have an income of
three pounds sterling, or a capital of sixty pounds.
In Rhode Island a man must possess landed property to the amount of 133 dollars (704
francs).
In Connecticut he must have property which gives an income of seventeen dollars (about 90
francs). A year of service in the militia also gives the electoral privilege.
In New Jersey an elector must have a property of fifty pounds.
In South Carolina and Maryland the elector must possess fifty acres of land.
In Tennessee he must possess some property.
In the states of Mississippi, Ohio, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York the
only necessary qualification
. for voting is that of paying the taxes; and in most of the states, service in the militia is equivalent
to the payment of taxes.
In Maine and New Hampshire any man can vote who is not on the pauper list.
Lastly, in the states of Missouri, Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, Indiana, Kentucky, and Vermont
voting requirements have no reference to the property of the elector.
I believe there is no other state beside that of North Carolina in which different
requirements govern voting for the Senate and electing the House of Representatives. The
electors of the former, in this case, must possess a property of fifty acres of land; to vote for the
latter, nothing more is required than to pay taxes.
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