disenfranchisement

[dis-en-fran-chahyz-muhnt, -chiz-]

noun

1. the act of depriving a person of the rights or privileges of a citizen, especially the right to vote.

   Opponents claim that these changes to the voting registration laws will result in massive voter disenfranchisement, especially among minorities, seniors, and youth.

2. the act of depriving a person of the rights or privileges of full participation in any community or organization, especially of the opportunity to influence policy or make one’s voice heard.

   The disenfranchisement of women at the household level, with male control over household funds, has contributed to the devaluation of women's labor.

3. the act of depriving a person of a legal or commercial franchise.

   Persistent violations of the contract will result in the disenfranchisement of the franchisee.

Word History and Origins

Origin of disenfranchisement¹

First recorded in 1715–25; disenfranchise ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

Example Sentences

Racial gerrymanders were proposed as a temporary remedy to guard against black voter disenfranchisement, but any fair reading of voting patterns in recent decades demonstrates that drawing segregated political maps no longer makes sense.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Our campaign and supporters see this for what it is: disenfranchisement of thousands of Minneapolis caucus-goers and the delegates who represented all of us on convention day,” he said.

Read more on Salon

The court has said that the allegations of disenfranchisement "largely appears to be a case of trust deficit, nothing else" and that it would "step in immediately" if mass exclusion of voters is proven.

Read more on BBC

Alliance Party assembly member Sian Mulholland said the "disenfranchisement of our society's young people" has been a "major democratic deficit".

Read more on BBC

“I think there’s a lot of negative polarization at play — an expression of defeatism or disenfranchisement at the fact that status quo politicians aren’t addressing young men’s problems.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times