From what has already been said in this chapter, it is apparent that the elective franchise is not a right but a privilege, dependent in the states on the constitution and laws of each state, subject only to the limitations imposed by Amendment XV. It is not a necessary incident of citizenship, although it is now generally conferred in the states on all adult male persons over the age of twenty-one years and in some states on women as well as men. But in all the states there are some conditions, for instance, that the person desiring to vote must have been a resident of the state for a specified period, or that he shall have been registered. Persons convicted of a crime are usually excluded, and in some states those who have been guilty of bribery or of engaging in a duel, or those who have failed to pay a poll tax.

Thus it is apparent that not even all adult male citizens are entitled to exercise the elective franchise, for a citizen of the United States coming into a state with the intention of permanently remaining becomes at once a citizen thereof and his rights as a citizen cannot be made dependent upon length of residence.

The only federal officers chosen by election are the president, the vice-president, the senators, and the members of the House of Representatives. The president and vice-president, as already explained (see above, § 40), are chosen by presidential electors, and these are selected in each state as may be provided by the laws of the state; so that the qualifications of the electors who vote for presidential electors are left to be prescribed by the state law. Senators are chosen by the legislatures of the states (Const. Art. I, § 3, ¶ 1). Members of the House are chosen "by the people of the several states "; and it is provided that the electors in each state voting for members of Congress " shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numer ous branch of the state legislature" (Const. Art. I, § 2, ¶ 1). In this sense the right to exercise the elective franchise with reference to the selection of members of Congress is a right enjoyed by reason of the provision of the federal constitution (Ex parte Yarborough and Wiley v. Sinkler), and yet there is no uniform set of qualifications applicable throughout the United States; but the specific description is to be found in the laws of each state.

The method of conducting elections and determining the result is regulated by the constitution and laws of each state, but provisions for a secret ballot are now almost, if not quite, universal in the states, and in many of them the Australian Ballot System has been adopted, by which the state authorities provide a uniform ballot containing the names of all persons to be voted for, which each voter marks and deposits as provided by law. The general objects of the state statutes regulating elections are to exclude disqualified persons from participating; to enable each voter to express his individual choice without fear of criticism and without being influenced by bribery or intimidation and without fear of oppression; and to secure a fair and honest counting of the ballots and determination of the result of the election.

By the federal constitution (Art. I, § 4, ¶ 1) the times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives are as prescribed in each state by the legislatures thereof, unless Congress has made regulations on the subject. (See above, § 33.) It is, however, now specifically provided (Act of 1899) that votes for representatives in Congress must be by written or printed ballot or voting machine, the use of which has been duly authorized by the state law. The only congressional provisions now in force as to the method of conducting elections are those prohibiting military or naval officers from interfering with the freedom of elections (Act of 1865), and prohibiting distinction of race, color, or previous condition of servitude (Act of 1870, embodying substantially the provisions of Amend. XV). Provisions of the act of 1865, for the federal supervision of elections, were repealed in 1894. But the right of Congress to provide for regulation of elections of members of the House of Representatives is fully established (Ex parte Siebold).