Suffrage protests of 1934-35
The suffrage protests of 1934-35 are a series of public demonstrations, civil disobedience campaigns, and strikes by non-enfranchised Themiclesians in response to the government's attempt to introduce conscription, when the Imperial Menghean Army was advancing on Themiclesia in the Prairie War. The Liberal minotiry government capitulated to the protest in April 1935 to enact universal adult franchise and to form the Union Government with the Conservative Party and Progressive Democratic Party, proceeding to govern during the Pan-Septentrion War.
State of the franchise
In the franchise for elections to the Council of Protonotaries, the representative chamber of the Themiclesian parliament, the right to vote was defined by a number of statutes that established individual franchises for definite groups of individuals. Originally limited to high-ranking members of the Civil Service, new franchises were created during the 19th century first for university graduates and faculty, then educated property-owners, then poll tax payers, and then their spouses and children. Most of the extensions occurred between 1845 and 1900, during which the Liberals enjoyed an uninterrupted period of political dominance; these extensions were hinged on the obvious pretext that most new voters would be Liberal voters. At the same time, the Conservatives adjusted their platform to suit rural smallholders; fearful of reprise if disenfranchising them, the Liberals were pressured to enlarge the urban vote to counterbalance a resurgence of Conservative support in the countryside in the 1860s. Furthermore, the Liberals were also supported by university graduates, who tended to be more open to Casaterran enlightenment during the 19th century and pushed for broader political participation. Resulting from a confluence of these factors, the following groups were enfranchised as of the 1933 general election:
- Civil servants above the Ninth Class, their spouses, children, and grandchildren
- Civil servants below the Ninth Class
- Fellows of the Academia Thimiensis and Academia Filium Patriae
- University graduates and faculty
- Gentlemen owning real property or capital equipment taxed at the value of €500 or more (approx. $60,000 in 2019 Int'l $) and their spouses
- Householders paying poll taxes at least €1 per annum
- All men and women above the age of 25, who have passed the Literacy Examination
Amongst those who are specifically excluded from voting:
- Mentally unsound
- Undischarged bankrupts
- Felons currently in prison
- Enlistend men and petty officers of the military services (but not commissioned officers)
- Habitual drunks, opium addicts, "notorious louts, thugs, and confederates to criminal enterprises and disorderly social organizations"
- Persons of questionable character (mainly prostitutes, magicians, street performers, geomancers, bodyguards, and other minor groups)
- Vagrants (individuals away from their registered home)
These restrictive rules were subject to much criticism from progressives. The provisions against habitual drunks, questionable character, and vagrants have an almost-perfect exclusionary effect on voters who are engaged in public movements, such as unionization, political activism, and football clubs. Additionally, scholars have noted that this franchise was particularly harsh against young adults. While there was no age limit for the property franchise, it was in practice rare for young adults to have this much taxable property, though they could obtain it later in life after a successful career. The provision against vagrancy also excluded any worker who migrated from rural Themiclesia to industrial centres, and it is believed the Liberals excluded them for their Conservative tendencies. The literacy franchise was lambasted as "a farce". Prior to the 1922 election, only 1.2% of all test-takers passed, and they were not granted an automatic pass for future elections. Those defending the literacy franchise claimed it was fair since the characters were drawn randomly from a dictionary, but its opponents pointed out that "fairness means nothing if it is too difficult", and university graduates could not boast anything more than a 10% passing rate. Members of the armed forces were excluded from voting as it was thought they were vulnerable to pressure from their officers to vote a certain way.