Yes and made to include people who were not citizens at the time of the civil war. Crooks, etc, have rights removed from them due to punishment established through due process.
And your support of schemes to reduce the number of voters is, as I stated previously an elitist position. The ultimate result would be an oligarchy. Our forefathers did not establish such a form of government for us. The republican form of government is supposed to assure you, since it is a few individuals that actually produce the laws which govern. If you want blame, cast it upon the few that have passed the laws which take from one to give to another. It is not the people themselves that vote to take from others. And even if they did, it should be unconstitutional, however, the few decide that it isn't. We have examples of the people being right and their leaders thumbing their noses in the people's face. Proposition 8 in California is an example.
The ultimate result would be an oligarchy. Our forefathers did not establish such a form of government for us.
Give me a list of who had the vote in the days of the founders and I might be in agreement, however my only issue is the elitist crap. It isn’t elitist to desire to protect yourself from those you know are willing and capable of causing you and the country irreparable harm.
It is no more or less than the desire of the leftist, socialist, elitist, communist, liberals to produce the country they want from the country the founders gave us. As you so state above, “our forefathers did not establish such a form of government”.