Thread

Unknown number of Texas voter registrations went unprocessed due to DPS error

106 points · 195 comments · hn_acker

agos · 1790263045 · focus · HN ↗
the entire concept of "voter registration" (and associated shenanigans) is so alien to my European brain that I fail to see any reason why the richest country in the world does things this way other than voter suppression. What am I missing?
1. the_doctah · 1790263179 · focus · HN ↗
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  1. undersuit · 1790263323 · focus · HN ↗
    Why should non-citizens be excluded from voting? If the community they live in makes a democratic decision they should be included.
    the_doctah · 1790265731 · focus · HN ↗
    Because of United States law.
    ceejayoz · 1790271779 · focus · HN ↗
    Only since 1996, and even then only Federally.
    <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/611" rel="nofollow">https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/611
    <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_Immigration_Reform_and_Immigrant_Responsibility_Act_of_1996" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_Immigration_Reform_and...
    Maybe we can ask SCOTUS to overthrow it on the "history and tradition" test Dobbs & Bruen recently (ironically) created.
    throwawayfifo · 1790292360 · focus · HN ↗
    >Only since 1996, and even then only Federally.
    States have banned noncitizen voting for statewide elections for a century.
    "While federal law does not prohibit noncitizens from voting in state or local elections, no state has allowed noncitizens to vote in statewide elections since Arkansas became the last state to outlaw noncitizen voting in state elections in 1926."
    <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-citizen_suffrage_in_the_United_States" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-citizen_suffrage_in_the_Un...
    ceejayoz · 1790293243 · focus · HN ↗
    Yep, they can do that.
    Nothing says the 1996 law can't be undone (as it's not an amendment), and states can permit noncitizen voting outside of the Federal context if they feel like it. That's Federalism for you.

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