That the determiner would be skin color.
I expect they expected citizens and politicians to be honorable and integritous about that. They were wobbly on other things like not electing a crackpot dipsydoodle in the first place.
They were the best of their time but inadequate in ours. Sadly.
It wasn’t until the 15th amendment was ratified in 1870 that black people in the US were given the right to vote. It wasn’t until some 50 years later that women in the US were given the right to vote (19th amendment). At the time, there were many people who strongly opposed those 2 amendments -especially the 15th. Their hatred and bigotry didn’t die when they did, but instead was passed down to the successive generations. From the time slavery first started in this nation (1600’s), many white people have considered black people inferior and unintelligent. Wars were fought over that thinking. Even though it has been proven repeatedly that this thinking is false, some still cling tightly to it. which, ironically, makes them unintelligent.
Unfortunately, some of these people have weaseled their way into our government. Backed by others of like mind, they seek to spread their hatred and bigotry throughout the nation. “Sadly, many of the ones who have the power to rid our government of these racists have been duped into believing that these bigots are “loyal patriots”, and that the lies they spout are truths.
These politicians claim that they’re trying to make voting more accurate, when in fact they’re really trying to make harder for black folks as they usually vote against them.