franchise

In politics, the eligibility, right, or privilege to vote at public elections, especially for the members of a legislative body, or parliament. In the UK adult citizens are eligible to vote from the age of 18, with the exclusion of peers, the insane, and criminals. The voting age for adults in the USA was lowered from 21 to 18 by the Twenty-Sixth Amendment in 1971, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 eliminated local laws that restricted full participation by minorities.

It was 1918 before all men in the UK had the right to vote, and 1928 before women were enfranchised; in New Zealand women were granted the right as early as 1893.