suf·frage /'sə-frij/ n [Latin suffragium vote, political support, from suffragari to support with one's vote]
1: a vote in deciding a controverted question or the choice of a person for an office or trust
no State...shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate — U.S. Constitution art. V
2: the right of voting: franchise; also: the exercise of such right
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.