Dear All: I have been looking into dissenter rights in 18th century VA and am still trying to find a definitive answer on a question concerning voting rights. The statutes in force prohibited voting by "recusants," which could be any dissenter albeit it was often used to refer to Catholics. Various histories that touch on the topic are confused. (Several say that the restriction was that "recusant convicts" could not vote, but this error is apparently the result of a typographical error in one edition of Henings. The lineage of the statute makes it clear that "recusants" could not vote.) I know that there are incidents of dissenters voting (especially in the Valley) but, complicating that, there are also instances of Catholics voting. I suppose the question is whether dissenters were ever expressly blocked from voting because of their religion. (Once secondary source attributes the disproportionately low representation of western counties in the House of Burgesses and General Assembly to the fact that dissenters could not vote, but I think this is more likely explained by inertia and a basic Tidewater chauvinism (which continued well into the 19th century).) So, any clear answers? Is anyone aware of specific instances where dissenters were prevented from voting based upon their religion? Sources? Thanks, John Ragosta To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html