Electors Quotes



This was the first written constitution in the Americas. This clause’s concept is perhaps the most fascinating constitutional provisions regarding the political role of women in all of history. Essentially, the Iroquois had reserved the right to elect the Lords—representatives of their legislature—to the original founding families of the tribes. Women could not be elected as Lords. However, it was only the women who could vote for the Lords. This is perhaps the only example in history where not only could women vote for the rulers of a society, but only the women could vote. The next clause in the constitution provides that if a Lord resigns or is derelict in duties, the women of the tribe should immediately select a replacement.


When there were elections, sometimes a prince elector, would “arrange” to have a foreign prince elector delayed so as to miss the voting if there were of a different faction or supported a different candidate and the elector had to pass through his lands. Worse, occasionally, “bandits” would assault an elector and sometimes kill him. Most nations which have elections have laws and procedures to prevent opposing factions from interfering with the representative’s travel to the place of election. This is one of the first in Christian Europe.


This illustrates what can happen if election districts are designed and desired to have a representative of a particular group. At one level it “recognizes” the reality of ghettoization. At the same time it encourages further ghettoization to prevent people from disenfranchivement.