8 Although the ratification votes in the several states did not occur
by direct statewide referenda, the various ratifying conventions did
aim to represent "the People" in a particularly emphatic way—more
directly than ordinary legislatures. Taking their cue from the
Preamble's bold "We the People” language, several states waived
standard voting restrictions and allowed a uniquely broad class of
citizens to vote for ratification-convention delegates. For instance,
New York temporarily set aside its usual property qualifications and,
for the first time in its history, invited all free adult male citizens to
vote. Also, states generally allowed an especially broad group of
Americans to serve as ratifying-convention delegates. Among the
many states that ordinarily required upper-house lawmakers to meet
higher property qualifications than lower-house members, none held
convention delegates to the higher standard, and most exempted
delegates even from the lower. All told, eight states elected
convention delegates under special rules that were more populist and
less property-focused than normal, and two others followed standing
rules that let virtually all taxpaying adult male citizens vote. No state
employed special election rules that were more property-based or less
populist than normal.