Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1869-02-05
National and So eufrage.


The Cincinnati Commercial fayors
national control of suffrage for national
officers, and State control for State OFF,
GERS. &c says:
We propose here simply to say, and
independent of any class Of citizens
that may be affected by the article, that
it should belong to the Government of
the United States to say who shall or
who shall not be qualified to vote for
its officers. We should have been con-
tent had the article introduced by Mr..
Boutwell, gone no farther than that,
leaving to the States to determine the
qualifications of those who may vote
for their officers. This would introduce
no serious confusion into our politics.
The Government Of the United States
acts directly upon the citizen, and he
performs his political functions as such
citizen, independent OF his character
as citizen of the State. eve are one
people, says Andrew Jackson, ''in the
choice of President and Vice President.
The people and not the State are repre-
sented in the Executive branch" The
proposition, therefore, is, that it ought
to be within the control Of the Govern
menE to declare the terms upon which
they shall be represented in it; the
qualifications that they shall have for
a voice in the representation in other
words, what shall be the conditions of
franchise as citizens of the United
States? To leave to the States, the in
feTior estate, the right to determine the
qualifications of an electOr of a superior
estate, is an absurdity that ought TO be
done away.
So, also. as to the election of Repre-
| sentatives. The mere fact that all the
! people do not vote for them, but only
for the representative of a district To-
cahzed within a State, creates no mate
rial distinction. 'When chosen says
/ the same good Democratic authority
above quoted, ''they are all Representa-
! tiVes of the United States, not Repre-
| sentatives of the particular State from
| which they come. They are paid by
/ the United States, not by the State, nor
are they accountable to it for any act
/ 1atiVe functions" 1t ought, therefore,
/ to be as clearly within the province of
the United States to define tne qUalifi-
cations of a voter for Representative as
| for President; and, since it is the duty
I of the State Legislature to choose the
representatives of the people in the
higher branch of the national Congress,
it would be no alarming assumption
were the qualifications Of voter for
members Of the State Legislature to be
determined by the General Govern
ments II the States, in vindication Of q
Il right which ought never 10 have been
left to them, prefer a different standard
of qualification than that set up by the
General Government, in the election Of
their executive and Judicial officers, we
should be disposed to allow them the
qualification of making il. It would
soon be discovered that what was good
enough to constitute a voter for the ex-
ecutiVe and representative officers of
the superior government would answer
for. voters in their inferior political ca
pRcity, and all such loyal distinctions
would gradually perish.
r What we maintain is that the gov
ernment of the United States ought, OF
clare, as well what shall constitute 6
political as well as what shall cOnsti-
tute civil citizen of that Government
! ! It is thought no hardship to the States
, that the Constitution invested Congress
: with the power to establish a uniform
rule OF naturalization, to determine
J upon what conditions he--the foreigner
: may be adopted into the political
: family; nor will it be any serious loss
of the evidences of limited sovereignty
if they surrender to the General Coy,
ernment the right to declare the condt
. tiOns of suffrage, and 50, like the conCli
, tiOns of naturalization, make them uni.
form throughout the United States
The diversity of practice in the States
in this matter is rather an argument
for than against the propriety of allow
! ing the General Government to declarc
the basis Of suffrage, and, to PreYen
any sudden change by partisan huctua
tiOns, lodging the conditions Of it in the
Constitution itself.