# Why are the news nets playing up American Samoa's primary votes but not other territories? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 4, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922 "2020-03-04T14:10:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/1 "2020-03-04T14:10:47Z")
Don’t Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Marianas, and US Virgins have presidential primaries? Is this part of a push to make Samoa a state? Note that I am of an imperialistic bend and think that would be wicked cool. Can we make the others states, too? [Aside] My brother used to be the Attorney General of the Northern Marianas (a big $25k/year) and thinks they want a split statehood with the U.S. and Japan. And that manufacturers don’t like statehood because they can put on a made in the USA label while avoiding paying minimum wage. [/Aside] ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/2 "2020-03-04T14:23:40Z")
American Samoa was talked about because American Samoa was the only territory to hold a primary on Tuesday. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/3 "2020-03-04T14:31:34Z")
Others haven’t gone yet. Northern Marianas March 14, 6 delegates Puerto Rico March 29, 51 delegates Guam May 2, 7 delegates Virgin Islands, June 6, 7 delegates ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/4 "2020-03-04T14:45:30Z")
Possibly because the guy who spent hundreds of millions on ads, helping to prop up those news networks financially won that primary. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/5 "2020-03-04T14:51:09Z")
As an aside - why do territories get to vote in Presidential primaries when they do not vote in the Presidential election itself? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/6 "2020-03-04T14:58:55Z")
A) It was the only territory to vote yesterday. B) The result was really weird. > [@muldoonthief](#): > > As an aside - why do territories get to vote in Presidential primaries when they do not vote in the Presidential election itself? Political party rules are much easier to change than the US constitution. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/7 "2020-03-04T15:00:06Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > As an aside - why do territories get to vote in Presidential primaries when they do not vote in the Presidential election itself? Because the parties have members living in those territories. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/8 "2020-03-04T15:00:15Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > As an aside - why do territories get to vote in Presidential primaries when they do not vote in the Presidential election itself? I think it’s because the territories are impacted by presidential decisions (see Hurricane Maria) so it’s only right they have a voice, minor as it may be, in the nomination process. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/9 "2020-03-04T15:14:56Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > American Samoa was talked about because American Samoa was the only territory to hold a primary on Tuesday. Um, besides that. :o Okay, smarty pantses, how about my statehood idea? How does that fail? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/10 "2020-03-04T15:31:32Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Um, besides that. :o > > Okay, smarty pantses, how about my statehood idea? How does that fail? Nonstarter. The flag would need to be redesigned and that would mean changing a pattern that has stood since Jesus won his first dinosaur rodeo. Adding a state = hating America. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/11 "2020-03-04T15:40:41Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Okay, smarty pantses, how about my statehood idea? How does that fail? Reporting on current news stories pretty much isn’t a major push for anything, let alone statehood. Who would be making this push for statehood and how would reporting on the Super Tuesday voting be a part of that? Residents of American Samoa are nationals but not actually citizens of the United States, although this is in the courts currently. Statehood is a long way off. > **[American Samoa | Nationality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Samoa#Nationality)** > > According to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the people born in American Samoa—including those born on Swains Island—are "nationals but not citizens of the United States at birth". If a child is born on any of these islands to any U.S. citizen, then that child is considered a national and a citizen of the United States at birth. All U.S. nationals have statutory rights to reside in all parts of the United States, and may apply for citizenship by naturalization after thr In 2012, a grou... ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/12 "2020-03-04T15:43:26Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Um, besides that. :o > > Okay, smarty pantses, how about my statehood idea? How does that fail? Wyoming, the least populous state, has about 579,000 people. American Samoa has a population of fewer than 56,000 (less than one tenth of Wyoming), but as a state would still get a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and two Senators. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/13 "2020-03-04T15:43:54Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Um, besides that. :o > > Okay, smarty pantses, how about my statehood idea? How does that fail? On deaf ears. Except for PR, the territories lack the population to justify having two Senators. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-news-nets-playing-up-american-samoas-primary-votes-but-not-other-territories/848922/14 "2020-03-04T15:57:37Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Reporting on current news stories pretty much isn’t a major push for anything, let alone statehood. Who would be making this push for statehood… Besides me? Maybe others, but I’m most concerned with what I think. But maybe not selective enough about reporting whatever idiotic idea I come up with at 3am.