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Emigrant votes - Yay or Nay?

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Comments

  • #152
    snubbleste
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 31,117 ✭✭✭✭snubbleste


    Also, I don't understand how all those people 'came home' to vote in the same-sex marriage referendum last year. Surely their names would've been removed from the electoral register, as they were no longer resident?
    Some even stated they'd been out of the country for many years and still managed to vote.


  • #153
    Podge_irl
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 29,295 Mod ✭✭✭✭Podge_irl


    snubbleste wrote: »
    Also, I don't understand how all those people 'came home' to vote in the same-sex marriage referendum last year. Surely their names would've been removed from the electoral register, as they were no longer resident?
    Some even stated they'd been out of the country for many years and still managed to vote.

    You can vote if you have been gone less than a certain amount of time (something like 18 months) as your name can still be on the register.

    The ones coming back after several years shouldn't have been allowed vote though in reality the register isn't exactly well maintained. I'd be amazed if I'm not on it somewhere!


  • #154
    KingBrian2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,363 ✭✭✭KingBrian2


    snubbleste wrote: »
    Also, I don't understand how all those people 'came home' to vote in the same-sex marriage referendum last year. Surely their names would've been removed from the electoral register, as they were no longer resident?
    Some even stated they'd been out of the country for many years and still managed to vote.

    Many who emigrated are still Irish citizens and have Irish or EU passports so they are entitled to vote. What we are talking about is not restricting the vote to Irish only passport holders. People are calling for expanding the franchise to cover vast numbers of Irish people based on some notion of Irishness. Do Vietnamese Australians vote Vietnam elections or do Quebecois vote in French elections no they don't as it would distort the process.


  • #155
    Podge_irl
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 29,295 Mod ✭✭✭✭Podge_irl


    KingBrian2 wrote: »
    Many who emigrated are still Irish citizens and have Irish or EU passports so they are entitled to vote.

    If they live in Ireland. Otherwise, in general, no they aren't.


    KingBrian2 wrote: »
    People are calling for expanding the franchise to cover vast numbers of Irish people based on some notion of Irishness. Do Vietnamese Australians vote Vietnam elections or do Quebecois vote in French elections no they don't as it would distort the process.

    What on Earth are you on about?


  • #156
    KingBrian2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,363 ✭✭✭KingBrian2


    Podge_irl wrote: »
    If they live in Ireland. Otherwise, in general, no they aren't.





    What on Earth are you on about?

    Vietnamese emigrants don't vote in their homelands election so Irish people living in Australia are in the same position.


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  • #157
    Podge_irl
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 29,295 Mod ✭✭✭✭Podge_irl


    KingBrian2 wrote: »
    Vietnamese emigrants don't vote in their homelands election so Irish people living in Australia are in the same position.

    Vietnamese emigrants to Australia =/= Vietnamese Australians. And Quebecois certainly aren't French emigrants.

    And who cares what Vietnam does. UK emigrants vote in UK elections for 15 years. US emigrants vote forever I believe.


  • #158
    petrolcan
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 898 ✭✭✭petrolcan


    eire4 wrote: »
    every time they come home.

    I visit Ireland roughly once a year but haven't referred to it as 'home' in nearly 23 years.

    England is my home now, I've been here longer than I lived there. My home is where I sleep at night.


  • #159
    Your Face
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,275 ✭✭✭Your Face


    No


  • #160
    fryup
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,067 ✭✭✭✭fryup


    no,

    because basically they don't have to live with the consequences

    i.e. they could vote in a party that want higher taxes and also they'd be out of touch with day to day goings on of political matters here


  • #161
    eire4
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,890 ✭✭✭eire4


    KingBrian2 wrote: »
    Many who emigrated are still Irish citizens and have Irish or EU passports so they are entitled to vote. What we are talking about is not restricting the vote to Irish only passport holders. People are calling for expanding the franchise to cover vast numbers of Irish people based on some notion of Irishness. Do Vietnamese Australians vote Vietnam elections or do Quebecois vote in French elections no they don't as it would distort the process.





    Actually I was only calling for the vote to be extended to Irish born citizens living abroad. Not a vast number of people at all.


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  • #162
    eire4
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,890 ✭✭✭eire4


    petrolcan wrote: »
    I visit Ireland roughly once a year but haven't referred to it as 'home' in nearly 23 years.

    England is my home now, I've been here longer than I lived there. My home is where I sleep at night.



    Good for you. I know others who always look on Ireland as home.


  • #163
    eire4
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,890 ✭✭✭eire4


    fryup wrote: »
    no,

    because basically they don't have to live with the consequences

    i.e. they could vote in a party that want higher taxes and also they'd be out of touch with day to day goings on of political matters here



    Out of touch with whats going on. You have heard of the internet right? Either way if having a certain level of knowledge of day to day goings on and political matters is a requirement for voting I think there are quite a lot of people living in Ireland right now who would be getting denied the right to vote. Are you planning on having some kind of test to find out if someone knows enough to be allowed to vote?


    As for living with the consequences that is why you have a small seperate consituency for which a TD or 2 are allocated to give our Irish born citizens living abroad a voice without them being able to unduly influence the Dail. Not complicated at all.


  • #164
    rainbow kirby
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,928 ✭✭✭✭rainbow kirby


    snubbleste wrote: »
    Also, I don't understand how all those people 'came home' to vote in the same-sex marriage referendum last year. Surely their names would've been removed from the electoral register, as they were no longer resident?
    Some even stated they'd been out of the country for many years and still managed to vote.

    Blame Irish mammies - my mum has kept my name on the register even though I'm 3 years out of Ireland and a lot longer out of the family home!


  • #165
    ArnoldJRimmer
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,501 ✭✭✭ArnoldJRimmer


    As someone who emigrated years ago, nope, absolutely not. If i return home, I'll rightly get my say again, but no way should expats have a vote when they are not contributing to the economy.

    However, first time I went abroad was on a short term assignment in work. There was an election, and it was unnecessarily difficult for me to cast a vote. The postal voting system has to be made easier


  • #166
    KingBrian2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,363 ✭✭✭KingBrian2


    ArnoldJRimmer wrote: »
    As someone who emigrated years ago, nope, absolutely not. If i return home, I'll rightly get my say again, but no way should expats have a vote when they are not contributing to the economy.

    However, first time I went abroad was on a short term assignment in work. There was an election, and it was unnecessarily difficult for me to cast a vote. The postal voting system has to be made easier

    The consulates we have all around the world should be used for Irish people who are outside the country maybe on holidays or on business trips to enter when they feel like it and vote. This should count.


  • #167
    fryup
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,067 ✭✭✭✭fryup


    eire4 wrote: »
    Out of touch with whats going on. You have heard of the internet right? Either way if having a certain level of knowledge of day to day goings on and political matters is a requirement for voting I think there are quite a lot of people living in Ireland right now who would be getting denied the right to vote. Are you planning on having some kind of test to find out if someone knows enough to be allowed to vote?

    come off it, the internet is no replacement for actually living in a country


  • #168
    eire4
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,890 ✭✭✭eire4


    fryup wrote: »
    come off it, the internet is no replacement for actually living in a country



    How about you come off it. You suggested there was a certain level of knowledge needed about what was going on in Ireland before an Irish born citizen living abroad be allowed to vote and in todays world it is hardly difficult to keep up with events at home for Irish born citizens living abroad be it following all the latest news on line or Skyping with friends and relatives etc.


    Beyond that as I also said to you if having a certain level of knowledge of current events and politcs is needed to be allowed to vote there are quite a few people here at home who can be knocked off the voting rolls so. Never mind how is said policy going to be implemented? Is there to be a test that people must pass first to see if they are knowledgable enough to vote? Who gets to decide what level of knowledge is enough for a person to be allowed to vote?


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