disfranchise
Strip voting rights
Disfranchise means to deprive someone of a right or privilege, especially the right to vote.
Citizens may be disfranchised by law, bureaucratic obstacles, or deliberate suppression: Felony convictions disfranchise millions of Americans.
The word extends to any exclusion from participation or membership: Rural communities feel disfranchised by urban-focused policies.
Also spelled disenfranchise.
Right to cast ballots
- ballotVoting document
- electionOrganized public voting
- pollingSystematic opinion gathering
- electorateEligible voting body
voter · suppression · gerrymandering · constituency · referendum · plebiscite · electoral · turnout
Narrow elongated piece
- denyRefuse to admit
- revokeOfficially cancel authorization
- nullifyMake of no effect
- invalidateMake null or void
abrogate · rescind · withdraw · dispossess · divest · forfeit · suspend · disqualify
Treat as insignificant
- voicelessHaving no voice
- powerlessLacking strength or authority
- silencedRendered unable to speak
- sidelinedRemoved from participation
underrepresented · alienated · second-class · unrepresented · invisible · ignored · overlooked · minority
Guaranteed individual legal protections
- libertiesProtected individual rights
- equalitySame status for all
- justiceFair treatment under law
- representationDepiction or likeness
constitution · amendment · charter · entitlement · autonomy · freedom · democracy · citizenship
Female adults collectively
- Black AmericansUS citizens of African descent
- felonsSerious crime offenders
- immigrantsThose settling abroad
- indigenousOriginating in a region
minorities · poor · illiterate · youth · elderly · disabled · colonized · stateless
suffrage
Right to cast ballots
electorate · voter · suppression · gerrymandering · constituency · referendum · plebiscite · electoral · turnout · registration
strip
Narrow elongated piece
invalidate · abrogate · rescind · withdraw · dispossess · divest · forfeit · suspend · disqualify · bar
marginalize
Treat as insignificant
sidelined · underrepresented · alienated · second-class · unrepresented · invisible · ignored · overlooked · minority · oppressed
civil rights
Guaranteed individual legal protections
representation · constitution · amendment · charter · entitlement · autonomy · freedom · democracy · citizenship · due process
women
Female adults collectively
- Black AmericansUS citizens of African descent
- felonsSerious crime offenders
- immigrantsThose settling abroad
indigenous · minorities · poor · illiterate · youth · elderly · disabled · colonized · stateless · refugees
disfranchiseenfranchise
Grant voting rights
franchise · emancipate · liberate · empower · free
disfranchised, disfranchising, disfranchises, disfranchisement