Voting eligibility in the USA.

[Tigers!]

I keep hearing about about voters being registered as republicans, democrats etc.
If you are not registered as either, or any other party, are you able to vote in the forthcoming presidential election?

Or is that registration just for the party's interest and has no effect on your eligibility to vote?

 

[skepticalbip]

Some states require registration as a member of a political party to be able to vote in that party's primary. If registered as 'no party affiliation' then they can't vote in the primary but can vote in the general election. In effect the idea is that the voter has to be a member of the party to select that party's candidate to run in the general election.

Some states don't require registration as a member of a political party... these states allow the voter to vote in the primary of any party they wish, but only one party. The primary elections are where the parties select their slate of candidates. They are not the general election.

Anyone registered to vote whether in a state that requires party membership declaration or in a state that doesn't require party membership declaration is registered to vote in the general election.

 

[Patooka]

I keep hearing about about voters being registered as republicans, democrats etc.
If you are not registered as either, or any other party, are you able to vote in the forthcoming presidential election?

Or is that registration just for the party's interest and has no effect on your eligibility to vote?

How one is registered has no impact in the general election. In certain states it's necessary when nominating a candidate during the primaries, however.

 

[Swammerdami]

Two points of clarification:

(1) Primary elections often have matters submitted to the voters other than party nominations. If you are ineligible for a party ballot, you can request a No-party (Independent) ballot and vote on those other matters.

Various "other matters" may arise, including Initiatives, e.g. "Shall the state of Alabama ban same-sex marriage?" Since some voters may turn out just to vote for (or against) such an Initiative, those matters may be placed on the ballot even if they have no chance of passage, in order to influence which voters turn out for the Primary.

(2) There is no obligation associated with party registration, or for taking a ballot for the opposite of one's own party where that is allowed. A Democrat who has equal confidence in two Democratic candidates might take a Republican ballot if he considers the choice there more crucial. Some D's might have taken the R ballot in the 2016 Primary in order to vote against Trump.

In fact, at least a few D's who hated Trump took an R ballot in 2016 in order to vote for Trump! The thinking was that the nomination of such a buffoon would ensure D victory in the November General Election.

 

[southernhybrid]

And to confuse Tigers more, in Georgia we have what are called open primaries. In other words, as has been previously mentioned, nobody registers with a party, so we can vote in either the Republican primary or the Democratic primary. The way it works in Georgia is that you show up at the primary election site and they ask you if you want a Republican ballot or a Democratic ballot. You can't have both, so you take whichever one you want and vote for the candidates of that party. Although, I almost always ask for the Democratic ballot, once I asked for the Republicans ballot because Ralph Reed was running in the primaries for Lt. Governor and I wanted to vote agains him.

In the general election, everyone in your district gets the same ballot. You can always write in a candidate as a protest if you can't get yourself to vote for the people who are running.

I know Tigers didn't ask, but there are a lot of other things that vary in each state. For instance, in Georgia, we have 3 full weeks of early voting, including a Saturday and a Sunday. We can also vote by mail, but we must ask for a mail in ballot in each election. If you're over 65, you are supposed to automatically get the ballot for each election in that year. I'm anxious about receiving mine since our SOS is totally incompetent and some people never received their absentee ballots for the primary elections.

Some states have no early voting. Some states have all mail in ballots. Each state decides on these rules. Does that confuse you even more?

 

[Politesse]

For all that they dominate media conversation, political parties in the US are mostly an aesthetic. Their formal role in the political process is limited, and that is by design, as the framers of our national constitution were for the most part fearful of the rise of political parties, not wanting the Whig/Tory problems of the British Parliament in their day to carry over into the functioning of their new republic. Which is not to say that our parties aren't powerful, but it is "soft power" rather than official as a general rule. One reason why I go against party whenever the Democrats have suggested establishing official rules to balance the party affiliation of the Supreme Court, I don't like the idea of hereditary party-held seats in any branch of the federal government.

 

[Terrell]

If you're registered you can vote any general election, regardless of party. Primary rules vary by state. Most have either open or closed primaries. Closed means you must be in the same party as the primary election you're voting in. Open primaries mean you can vote in either party's primary but not both. In these two you'll likely get a Democrat vs a Republican in the general election. There's also the "jungle primary" that exists in a few states. All candidates are on the same primary ballot, and the top 2 move on to the general regardless of party affiliation.

 

[Tigers!]

And to confuse Tigers more,

Some states have no early voting. Some states have all mail in ballots. Each state decides on these rules. Does that confuse you even more?

Yes it does. Thank you for a non-translucent reply.

How have you Yanks managed to make what should a relatively simple process so arcane?

Many complaints can be made about how Australia votes but undue complexity is not one of them.

 

[Patooka]

And to confuse Tigers more,

Some states have no early voting. Some states have all mail in ballots. Each state decides on these rules. Does that confuse you even more?

Yes it does. Thank you for a non-translucent reply.

How have you Yanks managed to make what should a relatively simple process so arcane?

Many complaints can be made about how Australia votes but undue complexity is not one of them.

Americans don't have preference voting, the thing that made a cunt like Fraser Anning unfortunately relevant either.

 

[Elixir]

And to confuse Tigers more,

Some states have no early voting. Some states have all mail in ballots. Each state decides on these rules. Does that confuse you even more?

Yes it does. Thank you for a non-translucent reply.

How have you Yanks managed to make what should a relatively simple process so arcane?

Many complaints can be made about how Australia votes but undue complexity is not one of them.

Y'all are required by law to vote if you are eligible to do so, right?
That single thing would make sure that Republicans would never again hold power in the US. And it is only one of numerous possible reforms, any of which that would have that result. Yes, we have our 'angelos' here, but they are increasingly outnumbered by diverse people with brains, compassion and a degree of tolerance.
Hence Republicans' current desperation to hold on to what Russia gave them in 2016. They have 53 mini-despots in the Senate, one big fat one in the Whitehouse plus an incredibly corrupt attorney general. Democracy itself is in their hands, and they are not going to let go.

 

[Patooka]

And to confuse Tigers more,

Some states have no early voting. Some states have all mail in ballots. Each state decides on these rules. Does that confuse you even more?

Yes it does. Thank you for a non-translucent reply.

How have you Yanks managed to make what should a relatively simple process so arcane?

Many complaints can be made about how Australia votes but undue complexity is not one of them.

Y'all are required by law to vote if you are eligible to do so, right?
That single thing would make sure that Republicans would never again hold power in the US. And it is only one of numerous possible reforms, any of which that would have that result. Yes, we have our 'angelos' here, but they are increasingly outnumbered by diverse people with brains, compassion and a degree of tolerance.
Hence Republicans' current desperation to hold on to what Russia gave them in 2016. They have 53 mini-despots in the Senate, one big fat one in the Whitehouse plus an incredibly corrupt attorney general. Democracy itself is in their hands, and they are not going to let go.

If you never register to vote in Australia you can dodge it. My father didn't vote until he was thirty and only started doing it because, "It was just easier - don't tell your mother I said that." The penalties are pretty lenient as well. For example, in 2015 I didn't vote in the NSW State election and my excuse was "My Kitchen Rules was filming where I was working and I couldn't get out of it", and that was an acceptable excuse. I regret doing it as I'm a firm believer of "Don't vote? Then don't bitch", and I love complaining.

Incidentally, how would the logistics of making voting compulsory work in the US? Every state has its own requirements for being eligible for voting, some states disqualify felons and you'd have the libertarians who believe compulsory voting is fascism.

 

[Terrell]

Y'all are required by law to vote if you are eligible to do so, right?
That single thing would make sure that Republicans would never again hold power in the US. And it is only one of numerous possible reforms, any of which that would have that result. Yes, we have our 'angelos' here, but they are increasingly outnumbered by diverse people with brains, compassion and a degree of tolerance.
Hence Republicans' current desperation to hold on to what Russia gave them in 2016. They have 53 mini-despots in the Senate, one big fat one in the Whitehouse plus an incredibly corrupt attorney general. Democracy itself is in their hands, and they are not going to let go.

If you never register to vote in Australia you can dodge it. My father didn't vote until he was thirty and only started doing it because, "It was just easier - don't tell your mother I said that." The penalties are pretty lenient as well. For example, in 2015 I didn't vote in the NSW State election and my excuse was "My Kitchen Rules was filming where I was working and I couldn't get out of it", and that was an acceptable excuse. I regret doing it as I'm a firm believer of "Don't vote? Then don't bitch", and I love complaining.

Incidentally, how would the logistics of making voting compulsory work in the US? Every state has its own requirements for being eligible for voting, some states disqualify felons and you'd have the libertarians who believe compulsory voting is fascism.

Oregon automatically registers you through the DMV if you're eligible. There may be other states that do this as well, but I'm not sure. If you get your drivers license renewed, or you get a new one, they also check if you're eligible to vote. If you are eligible & aren't registered they register you as unaffiliated (no party). You can opt-out.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-automatically-heres-how-that-affects-voting/

 

[southernhybrid]

Georgia does that as well, but I think. you have to agree to be automatically registered to vote. Sadly, we have way too many people in my state who refuse to vote for some stupid reason. The most common one that I've heard is, "my vote doesn't count".

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Georgia does that as well, but I think. you have to agree to be automatically registered to vote. Sadly, we have way too many people in my state who refuse to vote for some stupid reason. The most common one that I've heard is, "my vote doesn't count".

I don't like the auto registration schemes--with someone whose English is limited it would be too easy to make a mistake and end up registered as a non-citizen.

 

[Tigers!]

And to confuse Tigers more,

Some states have no early voting. Some states have all mail in ballots. Each state decides on these rules. Does that confuse you even more?

Yes it does. Thank you for a non-translucent reply.

How have you Yanks managed to make what should a relatively simple process so arcane?

Many complaints can be made about how Australia votes but undue complexity is not one of them.

Y'all are required by law to vote if you are eligible to do so, right?
That single thing would make sure that Republicans would never again hold power in the US. And it is only one of numerous possible reforms, any of which that would have that result. Yes, we have our 'angelos' here, but they are increasingly outnumbered by diverse people with brains, compassion and a degree of tolerance.
Hence Republicans' current desperation to hold on to what Russia gave them in 2016. They have 53 mini-despots in the Senate, one big fat one in the Whitehouse plus an incredibly corrupt attorney general. Democracy itself is in their hands, and they are not going to let go.

We actually only have to get our names crossed off. We can refuse a ballot, throw it on the floor, chuck a wobbly, tear up the ballot, stuff in the ballot box unmarked etc. without any penalty.
I am am electoral officer in my lucid moments.
I watch such people and think how many people around the world would love to have the opportunity you have just squandered.

 

[Tigers!]

, and I love complaining.

That has been noticed

 

[southernhybrid]

Georgia does that as well, but I think. you have to agree to be automatically registered to vote. Sadly, we have way too many people in my state who refuse to vote for some stupid reason. The most common one that I've heard is, "my vote doesn't count".

I don't like the auto registration schemes--with someone whose English is limited it would be too easy to make a mistake and end up registered as a non-citizen.

That would be pretty close to impossible in Georgia because as of about 3 years ago, everyone had to renew their license in person and bring an authorized copy of their birth certificate and at least one other document to prove they were citizens. It was a real pain for anyone who didn't have this documents. After doing that, you get a mark on your license that proves you are a citizen. In fact, isn't there some type of recent law, that all states have to do this at least once if you want to visit another country. I just can't remember the name of the law.

I don't remember what state is when in, but there actually was a non citizen who registered the old fashioned way. She was charged and her defense was that she honestly didn't know she, as a legal resident with a green card, wasn't permitted to vote. It sounded like she was telling the truth.