Regional Elections

Intent

To have free and fair regional elections and maintain election integrity.

Terminology

Region – an administrative region of a state such as a province, county, territory, borough, or parish.

Proposal

When there is a regional election, only citizens who live within the boundaries of the region for which elections are being held are eligible to vote in that election.

Citizens who live within the boundaries of a locality that is in the region are not eligible to vote in regional elections.

Discussion

Regions have legal boundaries and know exactly which homes lie within their boundaries to be able to check which voters are eligible.

Citizens who work in the region but whose home address is outside of the region are not eligible to vote in that region’s elections.

Citizens who live within the boundaries of a locality that is in the region are not eligible to vote in regional elections. This is because localities are organized when they have significantly more people with a higher population density compared to the surrounding area living there. Localities have their own government. If residents of a locality vote in a regional election, they would outnumber the residents of the region who are outside the locality. For example Los Angeles County in the United States had approximately 10 million residents in 2025, with approximately 4 million of these in the City of Los Angeles and another 4 million in more than 80 smaller towns and cities within Los Angeles County. Those smaller towns has its own local government. The people of those towns and cities already have a voice in their home rule. The less than a million people living in Los Angeles County outside any of these towns and cities would be easily overwhelmed in a vote if everyone were to vote. For issues that significantly affect citizens living outside of a locality, there needs to be a regional government responsive to their needs, and it cannot be responsive to their needs if it allows residents of a locality to vote about things that affect people who live outside of a locality.

See also: Voting Districts, Election Integrity, Single-Seat Elections, Multi-Seat Elections.