1866 West Virginia Constitutional amendment referendum

1866 West Virginia Constitutional amendment referendum

May 24, 1866 1871 →
An amendment to the constitution of this State, which provided that no person who, subsequent to June, 1861, had given voluntary aid to the late Southern Confederacy, should be a citizen of the State, or permitted to vote at any election therein.
Results
Choice Votes % Ratification 23,337 59.15% Rejection 16,120 40.85% Valid votes 39,457 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00% Total votes 39,457 100.00%
County results [a] Ratification   90–100%   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60% Rejection   90–100%   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%

A referrendum was held in West Virginia on May 24, 1866 to add an amendment to the Constitution of West Virginia. Voters were asked whether to restrict suffrage to former Confederate supporters.

Previously, the West Virginia Legislature, which was dominated by Radical Republicans, also enacted the Voters' Test Oaths of 1865 and the Voters' Registration Law of 1866. These measures restricted the right to vote and required state and local officials, as well as attorneys and school teachers, to take oaths of allegiance to West Virginia and the United States. It also preemptively all but ensured the passage of the amendment. ^[1]

The referendum question passed, with 59% voting for the amendment. ^{[2] [3]} This resulted in significant voter suppression, especially in the southern sections of the state. Estimates of the number of disfranchised voters range from 15,000 to 25,000.

However in 1871, Liberal Republicans joined together with Democrats to pass the Flick Amendment to the state constitution, which ended political restrictions on ex-Confederates in West Virginia. On April 27, voters approved the amendment by a margin of more than three to one, or 23,546 to 6,323. ^{[4] [5]} At the time, it was believed that about 15,000 people in West Virginia recovered the right to vote after the amendment was passed. ^{[6] [7]}

References

1. "In West Virginia, a state constitutional amendment passes and disenfranchises many former Confederates". Dickinson College.
2. "The American annual Cyclopedia and register of important events of the year 1866". The Online Books Page. 1862.
3. Rhoades, Henry Eckford; McPherson, Edward; Schem, A. J.; Ottarson, F. J.; Cleveland, John F.; Greeley, Horace (1838). "The Tribune almanac and political register 1865 - 1869". HathiTrust.
4. "The Flick Amendment" (PDF). Shepherdstown register. June 17, 1871.
5. "The Flick Amendment Vote" (PDF). The Democrat. June 16, 1871.
6. "History of West Virginia". The West Virginia Encyclopedia. July 14, 2025.
7. "The American annual Cyclopedia and register of important events of the year 1871". The Online Books Page.

Notes

1. 'Ratification' votes for Webster county seem to be lost.