Voter Eligibility

Proposal:

To be eligible to vote in an election, a person must be an adult citizen of the country in which the election is held, a resident of the voting district in which they will cast their vote, and must not be serving a sentence for a felony violation of rights at the time of the election.

Intent:

To clearly define who can vote in elections so that states can enact laws to support election integrity.

A person may be a resident of more than one voting district in the same or different states, but that person may only be registered to vote in a single district. Each state may enact its own law defining residency, such as owning or leasing a home, or sleeping in the state at least 180 days a year, and so on.

Discussion:

The maturity requirement is included because only adults who are fully responsible for their own actions should be involved in selecting leaders who will defend their rights and prosecute them for violating other people’s rights.

The citizenship requirement is included because only the citizens of a country should elect their own leaders. A small country such as Greenland, with less than 60,000 inhabitants, would not want a large country such as China selecting its leader by sending 30,000 visitors to Greenland to participate in an election.

The residency requirement is included because a person should vote where they live to ensure that only residents of a voting district select their own leaders. A less populated state such as Wyoming, with less than 600,000 residents, would not want residents of other states selecting its leaders by visiting and voting on election day.

The freedom requirement is included because a person who has been convicted of violating rights should not be involved in selecting leaders who will defend those rights. The convicted felon must first serve their sentence and return to society as a free person before participating in an election.