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American Voting Registration question?
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| Subey |
Confused canadian here.
I hear on the news things like "problems with democratic party voter registration forms" or "problems with republican party voter registartion forms"
Does this mean that when you register to vote you have to be a member of a political party? (not that you have to vote for the same group at the election, but you have to belong to one in order to get into a polling booth?) |
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| ResonantDrag |
| you don't join a party, you become a affiliate. and you can always choose "independant". i'm a little confused by your news references, if you have a link, i may be able to explain further in context. |
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| imokruok |
Every state does it differently. In some states, you have to declare yourself as a member of a party (as said above, merely affiliated) or as "independent" when you register.
In my home state of Wisconsin, we don't care. All you need is a valid address in your voting district. |
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| Subey |
| quote: | Originally posted by ResonantDrag
you don't join a party, you become a affiliate. and you can always choose "independant". i'm a little confused by your news references, if you have a link, i may be able to explain further in context. |
http://www.latimes.com/news/politic...-home-headlines
"He said multiple Democratic registration forms were signed in the same hand"
I'm not interested in the content of the story, more just curious about what the purpose of indicating an "affiliation" is when registering to vote?
the only comparison I can make is with my own country, where basically anyone who is eligible (i.e. over 18 and a citizen) registers once, and then they are in the system for the rest of their lives.
So I just want to know what the advantages/disadvantages of the american registration system might be. |
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| josh4 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Subey
Confused canadian here.
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Personal petpeeve, could you indicate that in your profile. These are international forums and it would be much appreciated. Please and thank you. |
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| ResonantDrag |
| quote: | Originally posted by Subey
I'm not interested in the content of the story, more just curious about what the purpose of indicating an "affiliation" is when registering to vote?
the only comparison I can make is with my own country, where basically anyone who is eligible (i.e. over 18 and a citizen) registers once, and then they are in the system for the rest of their lives.
So I just want to know what the advantages/disadvantages of the american registration system might be. |
the purpose of indicating an affiliate in my state is to allow you to vote in the primary elections (these are party held pre-elections that determine which candidate will continue to the final elections). if you don't change residencies, you're in the system for the rest of your life, but anytime you move (to a new state especially) you need to re-register or update your existing registration. if you are convicted of a felony, you lose your right to vote.
I don't know if i can comment on the advantages/disadvanntages of our system because this is the only reference window i'm familiar with. it seems to be a working system, granted flaws are beginning to manifest after the 2000 election. I don't think that the party in charge should be the determining group to produce elegible voter lists. the question isn't about our registration process, it's about our processes after registration. in a recount scenerio, should the person who was in charge of a state party's effort to elect their man for president be in charge of the recount of said election? these are where the changes need to start. |
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