disenfranchisement

Disenfranchisement commonly refers to the act of removing political power from a group, often in the form of the revocation of their voting rights. Disenfranchisement is the restriction of suffrage.

Disenfranchisement can be de jure (in law) or de facto (in practice).

De jure disenfranchisement would require a law that is passed that restricts the right to vote for a group of people. For example, many states have laws that prohibit or severely restrict convicted felons from voting.
De facto disenfranchisement may take the form of restrictions that are applied unevenly or discriminatorily, through intimidation, or through unreasonable requirements to vote.

For example, Jim Crow laws in the twentieth century created significant barriers such as literacy tests and poll taxes that effectively deprived minority groups, especially Black U.S. citizens, of their right to vote due to the disproportionate application and effect on those groups.

[Last reviewed in March of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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