From Open Secrets to Secret Voting

About this book

"The process of democratization that unfolded in European countries during the nineteenth century involved multiple dilemmas of institutional design. The first question concerned the scope of political suffrage. The transition from restrictive to extended suffrage took place either through the adoption of piece-meal changes in the scope of the franchise or through dramatic extensions that enfranchised nearly all citizens. Reforms enacted in Britain exemplify the first approach. There, the expansion of suffrage proceeded gradually. The first Franchise Act, enacted in 1832, extended the scope of suffrage from five to seven percent of the population. The second Franchise Act of 1867 extended the scope of suffrage to sixteen percent of the population (Cook 2005: 68). By contrast, both France and Germany adopted electoral reforms that expanded the share of the enfranchised population suddenly and dramatically. In Germany, the electoral law adopted in 1870 introduced universal suffrage for men.Similarly, France adopted universal male suffrage in 1799. While France reverted to censitary voting during the Restoration, it restored full universal suffrage for all male voters in 1848"--