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Mr. Curtis, in his History of the Constitution,' was of opinion that the exclusive power of the Federal government in the matter of naturalization constituted "an efficient practical control over the states in respect to the political rights to be conceded to persons not natives of the country. . . . It is indirect, but it is effectual; for no state has ever gone so far as, by express statutory or constitutional provision, to admit to the right of voting persons of foreign birth who are not naturalized citizens of the United States."

Had the distinguished jurist survived to the present day, a change would have come o'er the spirit of his dream. For, in the year 1889, as many states as constituted the Union a hundred years before, accorded suffrage to male persons of foreign birth, who have declared their intention of be*All rights reserved by the author. 1 Vol. II, p. 202, and note.

The Constitution of the Confederate States prescribed that "no person of foreign birth, not a citizen of the Confederate States, shall be allowed to vote for any officer, civil or political, State or Federal."-Paschal's Digest, p. 86.

coming citizens, conformably to the naturalization laws of the United States, and who are residents of the state. The states in question are: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon,' Texas, and Wisconsin. The territorial law of Arizona (and of Dakota, Montana, Wyoming) confers the same privilege.

Indians are not citizens of the United States, even when living outside of any tribal relationship and residing among the white citizens of a state, unless they have been naturalized.

This principle has been definitively laid down by the Supreme Court in the recent case of Elk vs. Wilkins (112 U. S. 94), where the plaintiff's right to sue depended 3" Provided no native of China shall ever exercise the privileges of an elector."

A similar law is in force in California. But since, by force of the Fifteenth Amendment, the right of citizens to vote can not be denied on account of race or color, these inhibitions would seem inoperative as against natives of China who were admitted to citizenship prior to the passage of the Chinese Restriction Act (U. S. Stat. 1883-4, p. 115).

on his citizenship, and the latter was sought to be predicated on the first clause of the first section of the XIVth and on the XVth amendment. The court substantially held that an Indian, although "born in the United States," is not "subject to the jurisdiction thereof ": that this means, completely subject to the political jurisdiction of the United States, and owing them direct and immediate allegiance; that Indians are no more "born within the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof," within the meaning of the XIVth amendment, than the children of foreign subjects, born while the latter transiently sojourn here, or than the children of ambassadors or other public ministers of foreign nations here accredited; and that the plaintiff, not being a citizen by birth, can become one only in the second way, to wit, by naturalization under some treaty or statute.'

Indians will therefore be entitled to vote, or not, the same as other unnaturalized inhabitants of a state, and subject to the same conditions, in default of any thing in the state constitution to the contrary.

1A dissenting opinion herein was filed by Justices Harlan and Woods, which pathetically concludes: "There is still in this country, [notwithstanding the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment,] a despised and rejected class of persons, with no nationality whatever, who, born in our territory, owing no allegiance to any foreign power, and subject, as residents of the states, to all the burdens of government, are yet not members of any political community, nor entitled to any of the rights, privileges, or immunities of citizens of the United States."

In view of the prevailing and the minority opinion herein, there readily occurs the sentiment of Lucan: "Victrix causa diis placuit, sed victa Catoni."

For further authorities hereon, see an able Note in 3 Am. & Eng. Cycl. of Law 245, 246.

? It is curious to note that the Florida Constitution (art. XVII, § 7) guarantees the Seminole tribe one member in each house of the legislature, who shall be "in no case a white man."

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Such constitutional provisions are few.* Maine and Mississippi exclude Indians not taxed; Michigan, those not born in the United States; Minnesota (const., art. VII, § 1) enfranchises redmen "who have adopted the language, customs, and habits of civilization, after an examination before any district court of the state"; while Rhode Island-presumably in grateful remembrance of the hospitable reception accorded by the redmen to Roger Williams

prescribes (art. II, § 4) that no member of the Narragansett tribe of Indians shall be permitted to vote."

Only a few states require a voter to have been a citizen for a certain period of time; which in New York is fixed at ten days, in Pennsylvania one month, in California ninety days, before an election. Such a proviso is of course applicable to naturalized citizens only-all others being such from the day of their birth.

But quite all of the states require that persons otherwise qualified to vote shall have resided within the state for a definite period, before they are entitled to exercise the elective franchise.

mean substantially the same thing; and one is an inhabitant, resident, or citizen at the place where he has his domicile or home." (Const. Limitations, 5th ed., 754.)

The term "is applied exclusively to one who lives in a place and has a fixed and legal settlement. This residence is, however, to be bona fide, and not casual or temporary." Spragins vs. Houghton, 2 Scam. (Ill.) 577.

"An inhabitant is a bona-fide member of the state, subject to all the requisitions of its laws and entitled to all the privileges which they may confer." Paschal's Annot. Const., § 301, note.

Many states have a constitutional provision to the following effect:

"For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence, by reason of his presence or absence, while employed in the service of the United States; nor while engaged in the navigation of the waters of this State, or of the United States, or of the high seas; nor while a student of any seminary of learning; nor while kept at any alms-house, or other asylum, at public expense; nor while confined in any public prison." (N. Y. Const., art. II, sec. 3.)

This period of residence is three months in Maine, Michigan, Dakota, and Wyoming (the last two when territories); four months in Minnesota' and Idaho territory six months in Colorado,' Indiana,' Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon,' and Utah (also in Montana and Washington when territories); one year in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri,' New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Arizona territory; and two years in Kentucky.

About three-fourths of the states further provide for residence in the county or legislative district, the period prescribed varying from ten days in Minnesota to one year in Kentucky; in New York it is four months, and five in New Jersey. The states of Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin make no such requirement.

Residence in the city or township is prescribed by Kansas (30 days); Indiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania (60 days); Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island (6 months).

Residence in the ward, precinct, or election-district is prescribed by Dakota (territory, 5 days); Michigan, Minnesota (10 days); Ohio, North Carolina (20 days);

1 Unnaturalized voters must have resided at least one year in the United States.

9 Unnaturalized voters must have declared their intention to become citizens at least four months before election.

3 Persons of foreign birth must have declared their intention "not less than one year nor more than five years" before they offer to vote.

Alabama, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, New York, Wisconsin (30 days); Kentucky, Pennsylvania (60 days); Maine (3 months).

Property qualifications have long been obsolescent. Already Kent, who considered them "safeguards against the abuses of popular suffrage "-which he distrusted as much as did the framers of the Federal Constitution-notes this fact, and laments "the dangerous tendency of such combined forces as universal suffrage, frequent elections, all offices for short periods, all officers elective, and an unchecked press."

Such qualifications existed in many of the original states; thus in New York to 1826, and in New Jersey to 1844. In Rhode Island naturalized citizens were expressly discriminated against down to 1890, only those being entitled to vote who owned in their own right real-estate of the clear value of $134, or having a rental value of $7 per annum.

The constitutions of Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island prescribe (and that of Tennessee permits the legislature to require) the payment of certain taxes as a pre-requisite to the exercise of the right of suffrage. A similar rule prevails in Texas as to municipal elections. In Utah the law deems no person a resident (so as to vote) who is not a taxpayer." The constitutions of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kansas, Mississippi, Minnesota, and North Carolina expressly forbid any property qualifi cation for the right of suffrage.

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Paupers are expressly disfranchised in 4 Comm. I, note to star. pp. 229-230.

An amendment limiting the vote to taxpayers, at any municipal election to determine expenditure of money or assumption of debt, was passed by the legislature of New York in 1877, but failed in that of 1878, the constitution (art. XIII) requiring proposed amendments to be passed by two legislatures before submission to popular vote.

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