# Can I still vote? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 14, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403 "2008-03-14T21:14:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/21 "2008-03-15T04:19:31Z")
[QUOTE=Page Fault] But do you think it _that_ strange that I think I should be given the chance to vote in _one_ of the states, for a national election within my party? [/QUOTE] It’s not a national election, though. It’s a state election, to select delegates for a national convention. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/22 "2008-03-15T16:22:13Z")
[QUOTE=Page Fault] I’ve lived in both during the election year, I should be able to vote in ONE state, logically. Does that make more sense? [/QUOTE] Not really. You should only be able to vote in a state in which you have established residency. You should be able to vote in ONE state, true, but to the exclusion of all others. And that state is the state where you reside when the primary is held. > [@](#): > > On the surface, this makes sense. The trouble is, Residency is established by 30 days, and the primaries are held _months_ apart. On one hand, should I be allowed to vote in the WV primary when I’m no longer a representative? Of course not. Why should you? Primaries are for the residents of the states, not for people who used to be residents. > [@](#): > > Perhaps not. On the other, I’m still a US Citizen, and shouldn’t I have just as much say in who gets chosen for the presidential election? Why do you think that U.S. citizenship gives you the right to vote in a primary? Primaries are not government functions. They are functions of political parties. Again, if you feel disenfranchised, complain to the party who runs the W.V. primary you intended to vote in. > [@](#): > > You seem to have trouble grasping on why I even thought it was an issue. I’ll break it down. > > 1. I’d like to vote. Good. > [@](#): > > 1. I moved because of a once in a lifetime opportunity(or the like) You made a personal decision. One of the consequences of the decision is missing the W.V. primary. > [@](#): > > 1. Everyone is always saying you should exercise your right to vote. “Everyone is always saying” is a poor reason to do anything. However, it seems that you are confusing voting in elections, and voting in primaries. AFAIK, you have no right to vote in a primary. It is a privilege obtained by registering with a particular party. > [@](#): > > 1. I can’t because of arbitrary dates set. Well, all dates are arbitrary, of course, but the dates for primaries are published well in advance. That has nothing to do with it. You can’t vote because you will not be a resident. It really is that simple. > [@](#): > > If the rules say I can’t, that’s fine. But do you think it _that_ strange that I think I should be given the chance to vote in _one_ of the states, for a national election within my party? Again, your complaint is with your party. They make the rules. And, as **Captain Amazing** noted, it is not a national election. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/23 "2008-03-15T16:35:37Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] It’s not a national election, though. It’s a state election, to select delegates for a national convention. [/QUOTE] It’s not even a state election - it’s a set of contests being held by some private clubs. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/24 "2008-03-16T08:43:43Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] It’s not even a state election - it’s a set of contests being held by some private clubs. [/QUOTE] That’s not true in every state. In Oregon, the presidential primary is also the primary election for all offices that are up for election that fall. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/25 "2008-03-16T08:44:06Z")
**Page,** you are Exhibit A in why we poll workers sigh in despair. Gotta get creative, dontcha? State laws differ, but _everywhere_ you need _legal_ residency in the state you’re voting in. Absentee ballots are fine, military folk stationed overseas being common users. But if you’ve haven’t lived in the state yet…hm. The Dope has quite a few longterm expats. They might well know some details. If Worst Comes To Worst, explain your situation as best you can, and see if you can file a Provisional Ballot. That’s the catchall for letting someone better-paid go over the law and figure out if your vote is proper. For what it’s worth, there is a general inclination in most places to say it _will_ count (that’s a strictly anecdotal statement). As mentioned, a primary is a different animal than a general election. To some degree, the political party decides who votes. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/26 "2008-03-16T17:56:55Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] It really is this simple. Residents can vote, non-residents cannot. That’s the way things are from the lowest level to the highest. Would you have it that residency be established by some \*stated intent \*to move into a jurisdiction? [/QUOTE] IIRC, Texas allows this. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/27 "2008-03-17T01:36:38Z")
[QUOTE=Page Fault] I recently moved from West Virginia to Georgia, around the end of February… …Also, I’ll point out that technically I’m still a resident of WV, … [/QUOTE] No, you are not. You are a resident of Georgia, technically and otherwise. Just because you haven’t obtained a GA driver’s license or whatever other technicality you think you have up your sleeve, you are no longer a WV resident. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/28 "2008-03-17T04:22:19Z")
[QUOTE=jtgain] No, you are not. You are a resident of Georgia, technically and otherwise. Just because you haven’t obtained a GA driver’s license or whatever other technicality you think you have up your sleeve, you are no longer a WV resident. [/QUOTE] Good ol’ Dred Scott decision in action. Being a resident of a state and a citizen of a state can be completely different issues. While I went to community college in Tacoma, I was a resident of the State of Washington but maintained my citizenship in the sovereign State of California until I transfered to the University of Washington. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/29 "2008-03-17T05:04:41Z")
[QUOTE=dtilque] That’s not true in every state. In Oregon, the presidential primary is also the primary election for all offices that are up for election that fall. [/QUOTE] hence the word “set.” ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/30 "2008-03-17T15:14:40Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] It’s not even a state election - it’s a set of contests being held by some private clubs. [/QUOTE] Primary elections are administered and funded by state governments under cover of state law, just like any other election. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/31 "2008-03-17T15:16:53Z")
Anecdote Alert! In early February 1988, I was a Dukakis campaign staffer in New Hampshire at the time of the Democratic Presidential primary there. New Hampshire defined residency as being in the state 30 days or more. I fit the definition, registered and voted. By May, I was in Ohio, which had a similar definition (I think it might have been 60 days’ residency), which I also fit by that time. I registered and voted in the Ohio primary, too. In November, I voted again in the general election in Ohio. So completely legally, I voted for the same candidate three times in one year. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/32 "2008-03-17T15:33:57Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Anecdote Alert! In early February 1988, I was a Dukakis campaign staffer in New Hampshire at the time of the Democratic Presidential primary there. New Hampshire defined residency as being in the state 30 days or more. I fit the definition, registered and voted. By May, I was in Ohio, which had a similar definition (I think it might have been 60 days’ residency), which I also fit by that time. I registered and voted in the Ohio primary, too. In November, I voted again in the general election in Ohio. So completely legally, I voted for the same candidate three times in one year. [/QUOTE] So do most dead people in Cook County, but due to their busy schedules they do it all at the same election. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403/33 "2008-03-17T17:55:26Z")
[QUOTE=Saint Cad] Good ol’ Dred Scott decision in action. Being a resident of a state and a citizen of a state can be completely different issues. [/QUOTE] Nope, 14th amendment. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” The debate that comes up is just over what it means to “reside” in a state. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-still-vote/441403.md?page=1)