this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2024
436 points (90.5% liked)
Memes
45727 readers
1070 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Local elections are also very important and really need participation. Like if you wanted that fee for mail-in voting to go away that would likely be a decision made by local politicians.
And without voting there's no hope for change for the better
Congratulations on ensuring our system has a harder time improving
I would agree but I spent very little time in my domicile & haven’t set foot within US borders in years. Seeing that I don’t pay (local) taxes or otherwise participate in the local community or economy, I would argue it would be unethical if I did vote in a place that doesn’t represent me & I don’t understand too well—like voting straight ticket without looking into any candidates. Last time I did a mail-in, I only checked State-level boxes since those you can easily research online & are more broad-reaching than the local level where only locals should be casting ballets for their community.
If I could vote on issues that actually affect me, I absolutely would—like FBAR reforms where you aren’t seen as a criminal for having more that $10k in a foreign bank where you actually have your address, tax reforms that took TurboTax out of the equation as the only ‘affordable’ option that actually lets you file with a non-US address instead of a no-service error, or Medicare/Medicaid reform that allowed vouchers or reimbursement for using services abroad rather than it being a money sinkhole you pay into your whole life, even if you don’t live there, but can’t redeem any care unless on US soil. These are never ballot measures & instead requires, ugh lobbying or a representative willing to champion these topics seen niche despite there being more citizens outside the US than some States in population.