Fun voting fact (1 Viewer)

[Ahsoka]

Someone who’s born in and lives any American territory except DC and American Samoa is eligible to run for president (if they meet all other criteria), but are ineligible to vote for president in the general election. This is because they are natural born citizens of the US (were born American citizens), but there isn’t any system to include them in the electoral college voting system (DC is an exception due to the 23rd amendment).

 

[dark_tranquility]

strange way to do it

 

[Ahsoka]

strange way to do it

Yeah the electoral college makes it difficult. If someone lives in a US territory as a US citizen and they or their parent(s) previously lived in a US state or DC, they might be able to vote as overseas voters depending on the state they or their parents were from. But the electoral college is balanced in such a way that you can’t add new territories without reworking all the numbers. It’s also one reason people argue for Puerto Rico becoming a state. If they do, then they’re guaranteed to be allowed to vote. But as a territory, they don’t have that guarantee unless a new constitutional amendment is passed, which is unlikely. Hawaii is one example of a previous territory that decided to apply for statehood partly in order to be given full voting rights and representation, and Washington DC actually doesn’t have the same right to representation as the rest of the US, because it’s a territory and not a state.

 

[dark_tranquility]

Territories cannot vote but us born do?

 

[Kataphract]

We're severely overdue for a congress expansion. That and the US gov't really procrastinates on statehood for a lot of territories.

 

[Ahsoka]

Territories cannot vote but us born do?

To vote you have to be a US citizen and you have to live in any of the 50 states or DC, or you have to be a citizen and have lived in a state that allows overseas voters to vote through said state (most states allow it to some level, but not all), or you have to be a citizen whose parents have lived in a US state that allows descendants of former residents to vote as an overseas voter in that state (fewer than the one earlier). This is also only for presidential voting for the general election. You can vote for primaries for president, or other federal or relevant local votes. It just comes down to the fact that the electoral college doesn’t account for territories other than DC, so if they did let you vote then it doesn’t count as anything, because the territories don’t have electoral votes available

 

[dark_tranquility]

To vote you have to be a US citizen and you have to live in any of the 50 states or DC, or you have to be a citizen and have lived in a state that allows overseas voters to vote through said state (most states allow it to some level, but not all), or you have to be a citizen whose parents have lived in a US state that allows descendants of former residents to vote as an overseas voter in that state (fewer than the one earlier). This is also only for presidential voting for the general election. You can vote for primaries for president, or other federal or relevant local votes. It just comes down to the fact that the electoral college doesn’t account for territories other than DC, so if they did let you vote then it doesn’t count as anything, because the territories don’t have electoral votes available

that sucks

Does usa have optional voting?
in aussie we have to vote and cannot say no

 

[Ahsoka]

We're severely overdue for a congress expansion. That and the US gov't really procrastinates on statehood for a lot of territories.

From my understanding, there’s plenty of people in Puerto Rico who don’t want statehood because it could mean that their distinct culture becomes lost (must one of the reasons, but a big one). So I’m not sure whether it’s just from the side of the US government, or whether Puerto Rico as a whole could potentially not want statehood yet despite the voting benefits it brings. But it has been quite a while since anything of this nature was even modified at all, and all these years later DC still doesn’t have everything that a state would with congress and such. And given how long it took to give them voting, I’m not expecting any other updates anytime soon

 

[Ahsoka]

that sucks

Does usa have optional voting?
in aussie we have to vote and cannot say no

Yeah in the US it’s optional, thankfully. The way it’s set up means that in some states voting for president does end up being pointless, since it’s state based rather than overall. I’d be so mad if it was required for us

 

[dark_tranquility]

Yeah in the US it’s optional, thankfully. The way it’s set up means that in some states voting for president does end up being pointless, since it’s state based rather than overall. I’d be so mad if it was required for us

I can't blame you
aussie rules are terrible
you vote here and always end up with a dickhead

 

[Ahsoka]

I can't blame you
aussie rules are terrible
you vote here and always end up with a dickhead

Those do seem to be very common among politicians sadly

 

[dark_tranquility]

Those do seem to be very common among politicians sadly

Pauline Hanson here is our version of trump sadly

 

[IGURO]

hmmmm exempting certain types of americans? biased flips

 

[Kataphract]

From my understanding, there’s plenty of people in Puerto Rico who don’t want statehood because it could mean that their distinct culture becomes lost (must one of the reasons, but a big one). So I’m not sure whether it’s just from the side of the US government, or whether Puerto Rico as a whole could potentially not want statehood yet despite the voting benefits it brings. But it has been quite a while since anything of this nature was even modified at all, and all these years later DC still doesn’t have everything that a state would with congress and such. And given how long it took to give them voting, I’m not expecting any other updates anytime soon

The worst part is that the "state" requirement is directly written in to the original constitution - requiring amendment to allow them to vote in the electoral college but avoiding statehood

 

[Ahsoka]

The worst part is that the "state" requirement is directly written in to the original constitution - requiring amendment to allow them to vote in the electoral college but avoiding statehood

To be fair there’s definitely stuff in the constitution that was rightfully altered or removed, it’s not infallible. The 1700s were a different time, and some things just don’t age well. So I’m not too mad about the electoral college system being altered. Even before the DC amendment it had drastically changed, and I think that was fine