The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1898-01-21
On the subject of pardons an' I,

tuition Of 1890 was in favor Of the res
toration of Il right to vote; the con
stitution JUS amed having made pro
vision for & :, gislative restoration of
right to vote yes the matter now an
open questio. concerns executive
pardons,
It is wort. aote that by lesisla-
tive act, api' I'D Feb, loth, ISL,
elections in Il .ate We're held rird
rocc, but thi. ! remained in force
only until Jun i5vh., 1922, the date Of
the act repeal =, since which time
they have h>,4 - ballot; since 1869
the constitut nave y2quired them to
be SO. In trlia 'N"" ! 10 record of
an election h 'rn rocc under the
law of 1921 tht he election he.l on
the 1st Monda. -lN. t,N nrd,g Sec,
6, Art 3 of / 'Mn ......yA asst
have been 81 goarse th' laws
under the >,....itution Of lsls on
the subject Of state and county elec.
tions conforlued their provisions, detin
ing who should have the right Of fran
chise to the terms of the fundamental
law on the subject and, as We have seen
the legislature excluded criminals from
the right to vote but the lawmakers of
that day by no means confined them
selves to the constitutional qualitica
tons when they came to prescribe who
should be entitled to vote in municipal
elections; for instance, We See that
citizens of the town Were made voters
in Shieldborough now Bay st, Louis
in 1918, in Greenville, jefferson county,
in 1919, and in Holmesville in 1890; and
citizens Of one months residence
were allowed to vote on the subject Of
the location Of the Madison county
court house by act approved in 1929, and
free white males citizens Of the town
above the age of twenty.one years
We're made voters by act Incorporating
Pennington, passed in 1922, and in the
same year free citizens resident in the
town were made voters in Columbus.
In 1921 free white male inhabitants,
resident of the town, twenty years
Of age and upwards" were authorized
to vote in Monticello, and in 1881 in
| Warrentown; and in 1924 such resident,
Of the county were authorized to vote
on the county seat Of Warren county.
BY act Of of 1921, every free white
male person, twenty one years old ol
upwards, an inhabitant of the town fol
six months and who had been assessed
and paid a town tax within year
We're allowed to vote in the municipa
election at Port Gioson, and SO, too
were the owners of land in that town
if the land had been assessed and take
paid on it, whether the owner resided
in the corporate limits or elsewhere
and am advised the law of that towr
so remained until after the war; th'
idea has been adopted by several mum
cipalities of the state in later days. By
the early charters of Vicksburg, approx
1895, and Rodney, approved 1928, suf
frAgs was conferred On "hnlholdsrs
househoulders. freekslAsrs and such q
shall have paid town tax being inhab
itants and residents for three months il
the town"
In 1880 "freeholdeIs and house
holders" were made voters in Shieldsbo
ough nov Bay st. Louis and Ray
mond, and in 1926 freeholders ant
householder" whether resident or no
were given the right to vote in tn
town of washington and in 1881 tn
right to elect a constable was givei
actual citizens of Vicksburg, owe
twenty-one years of age" and in 1885,
the 'freeholders and householders" %
of the town Of Washington were re
quired to be males in order to vot
! after that date and the only qualiica
tion Of voters in the town Of Liberty
according to the act of 1919, were tina
they should be free white males resi-
dent citizens of the town" and this
true under the first charter of Warren
ton, approved in 1920. In all these in
stances the constitution Of 1917 was nc
regarded as establishing rule to be az
piled to municipal suffrage, By sevel
al acts passed while this constitution
was operative the constitutional rul
was, however, adopted in defining VIII
should vote in municipal election:
Thus in 1921 in respect to the town {
Washington the language is person
entitled to vote for members Of th
general assembly, and the same lal
guage is used in the charter Of Clinic,
passed in 1880, and to the same lar
!, guage is added the words and WI
shall have resided in the town thr,
months" in the charter of Meadville an
Brandon passed in 1880 and 1881 r
spectively. In the amendment to d
charter Of Liberty, passed in 1928, ST
frage is limited to inhabitants of Il
town under the restrictions pres~ rib
by the constitution Of the state, al
the same language substantially is
be found in the act incorporating Ga
latin, approved 1929.
!. The qualified electors Of Jacks
=. county voted on the subject Of the loc
p ton of their court house nnder the pr
~ visions of an act passed in Decemb
o 1880. The free white male inhbai
y ants, residing within the town entitl'
o to vote for members Of the gener
|, assembly" were made the electors
n the city Of jackson by the first act
d incorporation passed in 1923, and
Ia<~;aIo,;yo oropt opprnvnd In ta1n ;