What US election was the first you consider democratic?

[compson III]

Well gentlemen in an argument of semantics I yield to you.

[TNF]

Property requirements weren't properly abolished until 1965 if we're counting a poll tax as a property requirement.

[Lincoln Republican]

1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote.

May 21, 1919 passed U.S. House of Representatives 304 for to 89 against

Republicans 200 for, 19 against  Republicans 91% for, 9% against
Democrats 102 for, 69 against  Democrats 60% for, 40% against
Union Labor 1 for, 0 against
Prohibitionist 1 for, 0 against

June 4, 1919 passed U.S. Senate 56 for to 25 against

Republicans 36 for, 8 against  Republicans 82% for, 18% against
Democrats 20 for, 17 against  Democrats 54% for, 46% against

It is clear from these numbers that it was the Republicans who were at the forefront of granting women the right to vote, while it was the Democrats who were reluctant to do so and were dragging their feet on this issue.

It was much the same situation with the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, where it was the Republicans who were at the forefront of this amendment to abolish slavery and it was the Democrats who were reluctant to abolish slavery and who were dragging their feet on the issue of abolishing slavery.

[Sol]

1968 obviously. Though it is only barely one now--the fact that prisoners don't vote is evil!

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote.

May 21, 1919 passed U.S. House of Representatives 304 for to 89 against

Republicans 200 for, 19 against  Republicans 91% for, 9% against
Democrats 102 for, 69 against  Democrats 60% for, 40% against
Union Labor 1 for, 0 against
Prohibitionist 1 for, 0 against

June 4, 1919 passed U.S. Senate 56 for to 25 against

Republicans 36 for, 8 against  Republicans 82% for, 18% against
Democrats 20 for, 17 against  Democrats 54% for, 46% against

It is clear from these numbers that it was the Republicans who were at the forefront of granting women the right to vote, while it was the Democrats who were reluctant to do so and were dragging their feet on this issue.

It was much the same situation with the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, where it was the Republicans who were at the forefront of this amendment to abolish slavery and it was the Democrats who were reluctant to abolish slavery and who were dragging their feet on the issue of abolishing slavery.

But 40 years later they did a 180 and switched sides.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

1824, because it was the first with PV,

1824 was merely the first election in which the popular vote was recorded. Electors were selected in several states (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and New Hampshire) as early as 1789.

Jackson, the first president that could be called a "man of the people", had his rightful victory stolen by another rich guy.

Neither JQ Adams nor his father were rich, despite what their opponents may have said. Furthermore, suggesting that the election was "stolen" is dubious at best--Adams won according to the Constitutional provisions for electing the president, which Jackson accepted when he became a candidate. Was the election of 1800 "stolen" because Jefferson won thanks to the 3/5ths clause, arguably the most undemocratic provision in the Constitution? Personally, I doubt any of the Jacksonians would have complained if Jackson had lost the popular vote and won in the House, and doing so because Adams did reeks of sore-looserism (and yes, I would say the same for Gore). Unless you have evidence of electoral fraud, please do not say that an election was "stolen" because the candidate you like best lost.


As for the OP, it really depends on your definition of "democratic". I can see strong cases for 1789, 1920, and 1968. I think SPC made a pretty good point here, so I'm going with the first one.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

What's the reasoning behind each of the poll options? (Besides 1789, 1920, and 1968)

[Lief 🗽]

1968 is the correct answer, unless you want to arbitrarily ignore conditions in one third of the country for some reason.

[The Mikado]

We've never really had one, given the amount of people that have been disenfranchised at one point or another (especially today, with mass incarceration effectively disenfranchising most of the poor), plus we have an electoral college that effectively quashes any notion of real democracy.

If we want a truly democratic election, we have to (1) abolish the electoral college; (2) get rid of archaic ballot access laws that ensure the Democratic-Republican duopoly; (3) restore voting rights to the disenfranchised, especially felons and those in prison; (4) end residency requirements on voting, voter registration, and extend the vote to all persons who work. There's no legitimate reason not to have the vote at 16, given that plenty of 16 year olds work and have their labor taxed as part of that process, which you might remember we fought a revolution over back in the day. No taxation without representation and all that jazz.

In what universe are "most" of the poor disenfranchised by felonies? The highest guesses I've seen are ~2% of the electorate.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Possibly as late as 1824, the earliest date we have PV records from. But possibly as early as 1797, when it was actually a contest. Washington had no credible opposition in 1789 and 1793.

[The Mikado]

What's the reasoning behind each of the poll options? (Besides 1789, 1920, and 1968)

1824 had popular elections in the majority of states to pick the Electoral College rather than state legislatures selecting them, 1868 had universal male suffrage and every single state picked by popular votes (South Carolina held out until the Civil War), 1880 was the first election after Reconstruction and the end of the military occupation of parts of the South, 1972 was the first election with 18 year olds, I forget the logic for the others.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

What's the reasoning behind each of the poll options? (Besides 1789, 1920, and 1968)

1824 had popular elections in the majority of states to pick the Electoral College rather than state legislatures selecting them, 1868 had universal male suffrage and every single state picked by popular votes (South Carolina held out until the Civil War), 1880 was the first election after Reconstruction and the end of the military occupation of parts of the South, 1972 was the first election with 18 year olds, I forget the logic for the others.

1844

[Antonio the Sixth]

As has been said, there's no clear, universal line separating an inclusive oligarchy from a restrictive democracy. It's a continuum and definitions can only vary through time and context.

That said, 1968 is unquestionably the date where the minimum requisites for a modern democracy (no discrimination on the basis of wealth, gender or race) were met.

[nolesfan2011]

The first time Andrew Jackson was elected, actual will of the people made that happen