maximally inclusive democracy: who is allowed vote?

evilbert

Does anyone know of any recent work/papers in this area? WHo gets to vote, who doesn't, whats the justification for this? anyone got any examples from other countries? It's an area that is becoming more & more important with increased glabalisation and movement of labour.


I'm looking at doin a paper on how democratic/undemocratic it is thast in Ireland those who are not citizens cannot vote; Polish, Chinese etc. yet they still pay taxes and are subject to our laws.

Dontico

if they can registar as a citizen, they can vote. and that would be the only reason why they would vote. non-nationals get thier tax back.

evilbert

as far as i know they can only apply for citizenship after being resident here for 5 years. & if they did they'd have to renounce their (for example) polish citizenship.

I've been told that in the UK once you're resident in the country and have a social security number you can vote in the general election - citizenship doesn't come into it.

I would think that a lack of ability to shape the laws/politics of a country they're working in would be a disincentive for labour migration in the EU.You essentially have no political voice in the country.

The_Minister

I think (am open to correction), that if you live here you automatically are entitled to vote in council elections

EDIT: From Oasis

Irish citizens can vote in every election and referendum
British citizens may vote at Dáil, European and local elections
Other EU citizens may vote at European and local elections
Non-EU citizens can vote at local elections only

a quick google would have had you this info a lot quicker.

Capt'n Midnight

Some countries allow voting from abroad. Should such a person be allowed to vote in both countries ? Whose definition should we use on residency - ours or theirs, and does the other country allow those resident in Ireland to vote ?

Actually - how do they check that people abroad don't vote twice in EU elections ?

Re question of paying taxes / subject to laws
First unless you are a accredited diplomat ( or member of the US military :rolleyes: ) local law generally applies.

You don't need to vote to benefit from taxes, policing, infrastructure etc.
In the case of Ireland, all you have to do is look at the foreign reg cars on our roads. VRT if it were levied on those cars would be well over 1/3 of their value, how many of those people would register to vote at that cost, especially if they had to provide proof that they were no longer on the register back home ? Conversally how many Irish people in England paid the Poll Tax just so they could vote ?

A lot of smaller countries ( Pacific Islands / those with many refugees ) could be affected politically by large numbers of temporary voters. What is the % of foreign nationals here of voting age ? Wouldn't they hold the balance of power between a FF govt' an a FG one ? In some places there could be more votes for setting up Polish schools than Irish langauge ones.

The main argument is the temporary nature of many foreign voters. If you are going to live here permanantly, there is the citizenship path ( biased towards Europeans and those from English speaking countries with white majorities ). And for those from many other EU countries you have a postal vote so you aren't disenfranchised by being here.

Ruen

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

What is the % of foreign nationals here of voting age ? Wouldn't they hold the balance of power between a FF govt' an a FG one ? In some places there could be more votes for setting up Polish schools than Irish langauge ones.

No because
Other EU citizens may vote at European and local elections
Non-EU citizens can vote at local elections only
Not general elections!:rolleyes: