DC vote

[Damuri_Ajashi]

Inspired by this thread:http:

//boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=559097

I moved from NYC to Hong Kong 20 yearas ago and I kept voting in NY elections.

Then I moved to DC and I lost my ability to vote in any federal election other than the presidential election.

I understand that I could have quit my job rather than live in DC (or I could live in a neighboring state like Virginia or Maryland), but it seems odd that moving from Hong Kong to DC makes me lose my vote).

Why can a US citizen residing in DC continue to vote in the state in which they last resided?

If I had a kid born in hong Kong and he became 18 when while we were still in hong Kong, I believe he would be able to vote in NY along with me. Why can’t we use the same sort of standard for all US citizens who reside in DC?

It just seems silly that I can retain my vote when i move from NY to hong Kong but lose it when i move from NY to DC.

edit: Please feel free to move this thread. I just put it here because this topic seems to generate a bit of controversy. If it helps I can put the words abortion in the title.

[smiling_bandit]

@Damuri_Ajashi

I moved from NYC to Hong Kong 20 yearas ago and I kept voting in NY elections.

Yeah, you probably should have lost that.

[Mr.Moto]

So you miss out on voting for two senators and a representative, right?

I think that’s unfortunate as well. And I support measures to rectify the situation, but I think these have to be done mindful of the Constitution. Giving the rights of states to political entities that are not states on an equal basis is problematic.

Solutions that do not take this into account are not workable solutions. Give voting rights in the House and the problem remains that there is no representation in the Senate. Statehood is controversial for many reasons. Probably the simplest solution is retrocession - this restored voting rights in the 19th century for DC residents south of the Potomac. But modern-day retrocession would likely be a political mess.

In any case, it isn’t as simple as snapping your fingers and magically making voting happen. That isn’t a realistic hope.

[Ravenman]

@smiling_bandit

Yeah, you probably should have lost that.

That’s not true. Why do you think states have absentee ballots?

[Damuri_Ajashi]

Why can’t we treat a citizen in DC the same as we would treat a citizen in Hong Kong (or Guam for that matter)?

[Ravenman]

The most obvious problem is that a large percentage of DC’s population never lived in any other place than DC.

[Damuri_Ajashi]

If I was born in hong Kong to US citizens, wouldn’t I be able to vote in my parent’s state?

[Ravenman]

Depending on the state, I think the answer is generally not. As I understand it, state generally require that you be a resident of the state immediately prior to departing the country in order to cast a vote in that state. I don’t believe being born overseas to residents of some state would automatically make a child a resident of that state.

FWIW, here’s California’s explanation of absentee voting:

To qualify as a “special absentee voter,” you need to be:

* An active duty member of the military (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard) or other uniformed service (commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration);
* A spouse or dependent of a member of the military;
* A member of the Merchant Marine; or
* **A civilian U.S. citizen living outside the United States.

You are eligible to vote in California’s federal, state and local elections if you are a U.S. citizen living temporarily outside of the U.S. who lived in California immediately prior to your departure from the United States. If you are living abroad for an indefinite period, you can only vote in elections for federal offices **(President, Vice President, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives).

[Chronos]

Note that it’s each state’s decision who qualifies to vote in that state. In principle, you could have Ohio, say, allowing former Ohio residents who now live in DC to vote as Ohioans, while West Virginia decided the other way. In fact, Ohio could decide to allow former Ohio residents who now live in West Virginia to vote as Ohioans. It would even be possible, if two or more states passed appropriate laws, for the same person to vote multiple times, once for each state.