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Voting rights still don't include everyone: there are citizenship requirements, age restrictions, felon disenfranchisement, and so on. (I originally intended t

by Chinjut 11y ago

Voting rights still don't include everyone: there are citizenship requirements, age restrictions, felon disenfranchisement, and so on. (I originally intended to keep this post completely neutral, not mentioning my feelings on such things, but, fuck it: felon disenfranchisement is awful and it fills me with sadness that we put up with it)

CM30 11y ago
Both prisoner voting rights and lowered age restrictions are being considered in various parts of the world right now. In the UK there's talk of lowering the voting age, and there have been court challenges against prisoners not having the right to vote. Perhaps the US will see similar stuff happen too. Citizenship is always going to be a requirement for voting though, at least if countries exist. Democracy doesn't work if people from outside a region can have more effect on the laws than the people living there.
- arrrg 11y ago
  You could have residency requirements, not citizenship requirements. Maybe not doable in the US, but perfectly possible in countries where people are required to officially register the main place they live at, e.g. in Germany. That would make more sense, anyway. Citizenship is just a weird concept, as is much to do with nations and nationalism. Heck, throw in a five year delay (or whatever the voting period is) and you may even be able to placate the eternally xenophobic weird people (nah, not gonna happen …).
- sos22 11y ago
  It's not that unusual for democracies to allow resident non-citizens to vote. The UK's franchise is broad: -- For European Parliament elections, you need to be UK resident on the day of the election and a citizen of any European country. I think that's pretty similar to the rules in the rest of the EU. -- For local elections, you need to be resident on the day of the election and either an EU or Commonwealth citizen. -- For national elections, you need to be either resident on the day and a Commonwealth or Irish citizen, or you need to be a British citizen who's been resident at some point in the previous fifteen years. -- If you actually want to stand as an MP, you need to be a Commonwealth citizen and resident for the entire term. -- And for ministers, including the Prime Minister, there's no citizenship or residency requirement at all: whoever wins the relevant election or appointment process gets the position. Which made the whole Obama Birther thing seem a bit weird. Admittedly, the UK's history makes it a bit of a special case, but it at least demonstrates that it's possible.
- nommm-nommm 11y ago
  Non-citizen is not the same as outsider.

by Chinjut 11y ago

CM30 11y ago

Both prisoner voting rights and lowered age restrictions are being considered in various parts of the world right now. In the UK there's talk of lowering the voting age, and there have been court challenges against prisoners not having the right to vote. Perhaps the US will see similar stuff happen too. Citizenship is always going to be a requirement for voting though, at least if countries exist. Democracy doesn't work if people from outside a region can have more effect on the laws than the people living there.

arrrg 11y ago
You could have residency requirements, not citizenship requirements. Maybe not doable in the US, but perfectly possible in countries where people are required to officially register the main place they live at, e.g. in Germany. That would make more sense, anyway. Citizenship is just a weird concept, as is much to do with nations and nationalism. Heck, throw in a five year delay (or whatever the voting period is) and you may even be able to placate the eternally xenophobic weird people (nah, not gonna happen …).
sos22 11y ago
It's not that unusual for democracies to allow resident non-citizens to vote. The UK's franchise is broad: -- For European Parliament elections, you need to be UK resident on the day of the election and a citizen of any European country. I think that's pretty similar to the rules in the rest of the EU. -- For local elections, you need to be resident on the day of the election and either an EU or Commonwealth citizen. -- For national elections, you need to be either resident on the day and a Commonwealth or Irish citizen, or you need to be a British citizen who's been resident at some point in the previous fifteen years. -- If you actually want to stand as an MP, you need to be a Commonwealth citizen and resident for the entire term. -- And for ministers, including the Prime Minister, there's no citizenship or residency requirement at all: whoever wins the relevant election or appointment process gets the position. Which made the whole Obama Birther thing seem a bit weird. Admittedly, the UK's history makes it a bit of a special case, but it at least demonstrates that it's possible.
nommm-nommm 11y ago
Non-citizen is not the same as outsider.