Under Freeholder Suffrage, which voters were eligible?

• A. Landless tenant farmers
• B. Freeholders who owned land or held an indefinite lease of 40 shillings a year
• C. Women who owned property
• D. All adult males

Answer: (B)

Freeholder suffrage ties the right to vote to a stake in land rather than to broad participation. In this system, eligibility for voting in county elections was limited to those who actually owned land or who held a long-term, indefeasible lease with an annual value of at least 40 shillings. That 40 shilling threshold served as a standard of property wealth and economic independence, ensuring that only those with a substantial and lasting interest in the community could influence elections. Landless tenants, who did not own land or lease at that value, were excluded. Women were generally barred by these property rules, and the idea of universal adult male suffrage did not apply here. So the best description of who could vote under Freeholder Suffrage is those who owned land or held an indefinite lease valued at 40 shillings per year.