7 ms·

Tech kids don't vote. An informal poll of my coworkers reveals those that live in SF didn't vote last election, some because they thought you had to live here f

Tech kids don't vote. An informal poll of my coworkers reveals those that live in SF didn't vote last election, some because they thought you had to live here for over a year before you can vote. Tech companies don't seem to do anything to encourage people to register either. I voted (especially for pro-building, pro-housing candidates). Maybe if everyone else did the same we could change a few things.

ktothemc 12y ago
Bingo. Please register here: http://registertovote.ca.gov/ http://registertovote.ca.gov/ It's very easy!
ChuckMcM 12y ago
Wish I could vote this up twice. The people who approve (or don't) the building of new housing units, The people who vote to control or not control the rents, and the people who make the rules about what you can and cannot do on a saturday night when out with your friends are all elected. If you don't like it you can easily affect the outcome of a city council election by getting your friends together to vote as a block.
mahyarm 12y ago
How about people on visas? Like H1-Bs and so on? That is a significant part of the industry.
- cskozmo 12y ago
  You do have to be a U.S. citizen to vote.[1] [1]http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Voting/Register.shtml http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Voting/Register.shtml
  - klipt 12y ago
    Not only that, but accidentally voting (e.g. because the person at the DMV said you could) can bar you from ever becoming a citizen and even get you deported: http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showthread.php/91741-Denied-N-400-due-to-voting?s=18f21e6f3839fb3d17471d72bc1ac2d3 http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showthread.php/91741-Denied-N-... http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=27445 http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=27445 http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/141110/pinoyabroad/pinay-in-us-ordered-deported-for-voting http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/141110/pinoyabroad/pina... https://beki70.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/fortunately-i-wasnt-deported-a-citizenship-story/ https://beki70.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/fortunately-i-wasnt-...
  - mrgriscom 12y ago
    Some states and local governments allow voting by non-citizen residents. They still can't vote in federal elections, though.
    - jekdoce 12y ago
      It seems like green card holders, who in some cities can vote in local elections, can not vote in SF.
GuiA 12y ago
A lot of "tech kids", myself included, are immigrants and can't vote. And, on a separate note, it's ridiculous that I have lived here for over 4 years and paid hundreds of thousands in taxes but do not have any way to influence the democratic process (it is equally ridiculous that I can still vote in my home country despite not setting foot there for more than 2 weeks per year for the past 6 years and not contributing to its economy at all. The current definition of citizenship is completely outdated in the globalized world)
- Kalium 12y ago
  Also, a lot of "tech kids" like myself aren't in SF proper and thus can't vote on things like SF rent control. It's amazing how privilege acts to protect itself.
  - superuser2 12y ago
    I'm sorry, what? Why should you be able to vote on a government that doesn't have jurisdiction over you? Remember that SF is an anomaly. Generally it's the wealthy in the suburbs and the underprivileged in the city. Suburbanites voting on urban policy (in general) is the last thing you should support if you are concerned about privilege.
    - Kalium 12y ago
      We can't afford to live and vote in the city where we work because those with privilege have used it to push us out.
    - dasil003 12y ago
      > * Remember that SF is an anomaly. Generally it's the wealthy in the suburbs and the underprivileged in the city. * It's not an anomaly, it's a trend.
    - hueving 12y ago
      >Generally it's the wealthy in the suburbs and the underprivileged in the city. That's why rent in Manhattan is so cheap.
raldi 12y ago
Instructions for how to register to vote-by-mail: https://www.reddit.com/r/housingforsf/comments/22xoht/help_hfsf_register_to_vote_by_mail_and_tell_us/ https://www.reddit.com/r/housingforsf/comments/22xoht/help_h... It's easy and takes five minutes! Give it a shot and post a reply below either confirming or denying that it's really as fast as I claim.
kelnos 12y ago
Tech companies don't seem to do anything to encourage people to register either. My company (a tech company) sent a bunch of emails about registering to vote and voting, and also had a drop box for voter registration forms, and encouraged people to get out of the office to vote. Yes, this is just one anecdote, but there are people at tech companies who recognize that political issues are important and push people to get involved.

ktothemc 12y ago

Bingo. Please register here: http://registertovote.ca.gov/ http://registertovote.ca.gov/ It's very easy!

ChuckMcM 12y ago

Wish I could vote this up twice. The people who approve (or don't) the building of new housing units, The people who vote to control or not control the rents, and the people who make the rules about what you can and cannot do on a saturday night when out with your friends are all elected. If you don't like it you can easily affect the outcome of a city council election by getting your friends together to vote as a block.

mahyarm 12y ago

How about people on visas? Like H1-Bs and so on? That is a significant part of the industry.

cskozmo 12y ago
You do have to be a U.S. citizen to vote.[1] [1]http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Voting/Register.shtml http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Voting/Register.shtml
- klipt 12y ago
  Not only that, but accidentally voting (e.g. because the person at the DMV said you could) can bar you from ever becoming a citizen and even get you deported: http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showthread.php/91741-Denied-N-400-due-to-voting?s=18f21e6f3839fb3d17471d72bc1ac2d3 http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showthread.php/91741-Denied-N-... http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=27445 http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=27445 http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/141110/pinoyabroad/pinay-in-us-ordered-deported-for-voting http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/141110/pinoyabroad/pina... https://beki70.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/fortunately-i-wasnt-deported-a-citizenship-story/ https://beki70.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/fortunately-i-wasnt-...
- mrgriscom 12y ago
  Some states and local governments allow voting by non-citizen residents. They still can't vote in federal elections, though.
  - jekdoce 12y ago
    It seems like green card holders, who in some cities can vote in local elections, can not vote in SF.

GuiA 12y ago

A lot of "tech kids", myself included, are immigrants and can't vote. And, on a separate note, it's ridiculous that I have lived here for over 4 years and paid hundreds of thousands in taxes but do not have any way to influence the democratic process (it is equally ridiculous that I can still vote in my home country despite not setting foot there for more than 2 weeks per year for the past 6 years and not contributing to its economy at all. The current definition of citizenship is completely outdated in the globalized world)

Kalium 12y ago
Also, a lot of "tech kids" like myself aren't in SF proper and thus can't vote on things like SF rent control. It's amazing how privilege acts to protect itself.
- superuser2 12y ago
  I'm sorry, what? Why should you be able to vote on a government that doesn't have jurisdiction over you? Remember that SF is an anomaly. Generally it's the wealthy in the suburbs and the underprivileged in the city. Suburbanites voting on urban policy (in general) is the last thing you should support if you are concerned about privilege.
  - Kalium 12y ago
    We can't afford to live and vote in the city where we work because those with privilege have used it to push us out.
  - dasil003 12y ago
    > * Remember that SF is an anomaly. Generally it's the wealthy in the suburbs and the underprivileged in the city. * It's not an anomaly, it's a trend.
  - hueving 12y ago
    >Generally it's the wealthy in the suburbs and the underprivileged in the city. That's why rent in Manhattan is so cheap.

raldi 12y ago

Instructions for how to register to vote-by-mail: https://www.reddit.com/r/housingforsf/comments/22xoht/help_hfsf_register_to_vote_by_mail_and_tell_us/ https://www.reddit.com/r/housingforsf/comments/22xoht/help_h... It's easy and takes five minutes! Give it a shot and post a reply below either confirming or denying that it's really as fast as I claim.

kelnos 12y ago

Tech companies don't seem to do anything to encourage people to register either. My company (a tech company) sent a bunch of emails about registering to vote and voting, and also had a drop box for voter registration forms, and encouraged people to get out of the office to vote. Yes, this is just one anecdote, but there are people at tech companies who recognize that political issues are important and push people to get involved.