Questions about the US

[chevalier]

I realize that the Declaration of Independence has no legal bearing but I think this is where the idea of the "right" to vote comes from. From the preamble...(emphasis added)

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

"Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" sounds like the right to have a say (a la voting).

[Dan Roll]

You may be right, but this is why they felt the need for the second amendment. The framers clearly recognized the citizenry needed to be on par militarily with the government or tyranny would be realized. The debates among the framers about the franchise make interesting reading.
I heard an interesting take the other day suggesting the founders would be as against 'representation without taxation' as we have for about half of the US as they were about 'taxation without representation'. Franklin predicted the end of the republic as soon as the populace found out they could vote their way into the treasury. He was right.