term:

Suffrage

suffrage 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 in the Senate "U.S. Constitution art. V"]
2 : the right of voting
: franchise
;also
: the exercise of such right

Source: Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law ©1996. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Published under license with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.