Existing comment:
Virginia's 1902 Constitution
The new state constitution passed in 1902 was the culmination of post-Reconstruction efforts to restore white elites to power by disenfranchising black and poor white people. And, it was very effective. Through a poll tax and other measures, the number of eligible black voters dropped by nearly 90 percent and white voters by 50 percent. Such restrictions remained in place until the 1960s.
Is it a democracy when only 10 percent of a state's population participates in elections? |