Most of us EU citizens simply don't understand the US problem of voter registration and eligibility.

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

Most of us EU citizens simply don't understand the US problem of voter registration and eligibility. Because over here having a national ID like a passport and being registered at your place of residence is the norm and automagically makes you eligible to vote. #JustSayin

Darnell Clayton :verified:

@jwildeboer It technically is the same over here in America . The problem is the GOP are constantly purging voter registrations for pseudo nobale causes.

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

@darnell One thing we EU citizens fail to understand is why voter registration with a party affiliation even exists. To us that is undemocratic.

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

@darnell And we have a ratio of close to 100% of EU citizens with a valid passport/travel document compared to just 48% in the US.

How many US passports are in circulation?

There were 160.7 million valid US passports in circulation in 2023, up 36.8% from 2013.

USAFacts (usafacts.org)

always tired

@jwildeboer @darnell I'd doubt those 100%. National id, yes. Passport?!

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

@project1enigma I said passport/travel document and "close to" for a reason. I guess we can agree that the number is definitely far above the 48% for the USA. @darnell

Don Hayward

@jwildeboer @darnell Who picks the candidates for each party? Here in Texas, that's what our party registration is. You go to a party primary to select the candidate, but you are only allowed to vote in ONE primary, not all/multiple of them. Until the next primary, that is your party.

always tired

@jwildeboer @darnell But the national id serves a travel document only if you restrict the term "travel" to a minority of destinations. If you start out with that, you'd need to count on the other side everyone in the US who has some document that lets them go on a domestic flight. Given that the EU/EEA and the US are at least roughly comparable in size.

Jerome

@jwildeboer You are generalizing a complicated European situation. For example: residence registration does not exist in France. And French nationals can vote for French elections when abroad.
Dutch citizens cannot.

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

@drhaywardj Over here the party selects its candidates and we have a voting system that typically separates party and candidate votes because we have (a lot) more than just two parties. @darnell

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

@dl2jml I am a dutch citizen and I can vote from abroad for Dutch elections. If I would live in France I could vote for EU elections and local elections in France too. Yes, it is more complicated, but voting eligibility is more simple here than in the USA, IMHO.

Abie [moving]

@project1enigma @jwildeboer @darnell 29 countries (Schengen space) is less than the whole world, sure but it covers a big part of the actual travels.

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

@temptoetiam My main topic was voting eligibility. Which is simplified because we have more or less mandatory national IDs, typically expressed with a travel document like national ID cards and passports. Which in turn are used as proof of identity and eligibility when you cast your vote in person at the voting booth. Traveling with your national ID is a different topic from voting. @project1enigma @darnell

tessarakt

@drhaywardj @jwildeboer @darnell The _members_ of that party (in bigger parties mostly via representatives), without government interference or support. There is no such thing as a party "affiliation" here.

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

@tessarakt To add a bit of chaos Parties here are free to decide on the Modus Operandi f selecting their candidates. Can be via vote of their members or via selection another way. They are free to decide how to do it. @drhaywardj @darnell

tessarakt

@jwildeboer @drhaywardj @darnell I also heard you have a party with one member. That wouldn't be legal in Germany.

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

@tessarakt If with "you" meaning the Netherlands and its PVV which is a one man organisation and not really a party — yep. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_for_Freedom @drhaywardj @darnell

David Powers

@jwildeboer
The problem of US voter fraud is manufacture by the party on the right. It is a string of lies pushed and promoted for maybe ten years or a bit earlier. Bush got into office based on the hanging chad issue. While it wasn't fraud, it added to the belief of fraud. The ID issue has been boiling for a long time, it affects the poorest of those in the US. That is a different problem used by the right and left. It is difficult to achieve any quality of life without an ID of some kind.

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

@davidpowers Voter fraud is another thing and I agree that is mostly manufactured. But people being de-registered as voters is very real, AFAICS. And that is the part we over here fail to understand. As voting eligibility comes with being registered at your place of residence, which is mandatory and not a big deal.