Registerwhat?

[Oliver]

Just out of curiosity:

In contrast to the US, here in Germany you get automatically
"registered" and invited to vote. So there is no need to do any-
thing besides actually go and vote on election day.

Now even if I never voted myself. Since many Members in here
come from all over the world: In which other western country
than the United States do people actually have to register for
the party they wanna vote for?

 

[Wildy]

To sort of help Australia isn't a country that requires people to register for the party that we want to vote for because the system we use would not make it a viable option.

Why do they do that in the US?

 

[Rob Lister]

To sort of help Australia isn't a country that requires people to register for the party that we want to vote for because the system we use would not make it a viable option.

Why do they do that in the US?

nor do you have to register for a party in the u.s. I'm registered to vote as an independent.

the rules for voting in the primary elections differ from state to state but in mine I can vote in either (any) primary but not both (more than one).

 

[Wildy]

nor do you have to register for a party in the u.s. I'm registered to vote as an independent.

the rules for voting in the primary elections differ from state to state but in mine I can vote in either (any) primary but not both (more than one).

I don't understand. What do you mean "registered to vote as an independent"? Does that mean that if you do vote they just expect you to vote independent or are you bound to vote independent?

Or instead of trying to answer those, could you just explain the US system of registering to vote?

 

[Rob Lister]

I don't understand. What do you mean "registered to vote as an independent"? Does that mean that if you do vote they just expect you to vote independent or are you bound to vote independent?

Or instead of trying to answer those, could you just explain the US system of registering to vote?

no, it means I'm not a member of any party. They don't know how I'm likely to vote.

To register, you fill out a form and mail it. forms are available at most public institutions (library's, DMV's, post offices, etc)

eta: in some states you are only allowed to vote in the primary for the party in which you are a member. Therefore, there is an advantage in joining one party or another. In my state, the law allows me to vote in any single primary, therefore negating the advantage of party affiliation.

more?

 

[Wildy]

no, it means I'm not a member of any party. They don't know how I'm likely to vote.

To register, you fill out a form and mail it. forms are available at most public institutions (library's, DMV's, post offices, etc)

eta: in some states you are only allowed to vote in the primary for the party in which you are a member. Therefore, there is an advantage in joining one party or another. In my state, the law allows me to vote in any single primary, therefore negating the advantage of party affiliation.

more?

Can you join both parties then if you want to keep your options open?

For those states that you have to join a party to vote in primaries (I assume that this is a popular vote for the candidate before the proper election right?), what exactly is that supposed to achieve?

 

[The Man]

Voter registration identifies the sate or locality you will vote in and there by the applicable voting restrictions imposed by that state or locality, including voting in local government and school elections. Some states restrict convicted felons from voting. As Rob Lister posted, some states require registration to a particularly party in order to vote in that parties primary and others do not. In the US voter registrations is about identifying the locality you are voting from and the restrictions or privileges that apply.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_registration

 

[Rob Lister]

Can you join both parties then if you want to keep your options open?

For those states that you have to join a party to vote in primaries (I assume that this is a popular vote for the candidate before the proper election right?), what exactly is that supposed to achieve?

1) one party only, but I can switch as often as I want.

2) Every 'official' party has a primary. Several people will run to be the candidate for each party. During the primary election, the 'people' choose which candidate that want for that party (but they can only vote in one primary) Whoever wins gets to run in the national election for that particular party.

Typically, only two parties have a snowballs chance in hell of winning; dems or reps. Third party candidates (or independents candidates) can and sometimes do sway the election, but don't actually win. Examples are Ross Perot in the Bush Sr/Clinton election and Namesslipsmymind (green party) in the Bush Jr/Gore election. --- Perot probably stole Bush Sr votes giving the election to Clinton and Nameslipsmymind probably stole Gore votes giving the election to Bush (but I don't want to argue about it...may not even be valid).

 

[The Man]

Can you join both parties then if you want to keep your options open?

For those states that you have to join a party to vote in primaries (I assume that this is a popular vote for the candidate before the proper election right?), what exactly is that supposed to achieve?

No, if you do join a party it can only be one, although you can always change you party affiliation. I am sure however, that there are some restrictions about when and how often in a year you can make that change although I am not sure what they are (probably depends on the state)

Primaries select which of the party’s candidates they will support for the general election.

 

[NobbyNobbs]

"Nameslipsmymind"=Ralph Nader?

 

[Rob Lister]

"Nameslipsmymind"=Ralph Nader?

Yea, that's the guy

 

[The Man]

Sorry, Rob Lister, you seem to be posting faster then me and doing a find job answering the questions. So to prevent multiple posts addressing the same issues, I’ll bow out for now.

 

[Rob Lister]

Sorry, Rob Lister, you seem to be posting faster then me and doing a find job answering the questions. So to prevent multiple posts addressing the same issues, I’ll bow out for now.

No, continue. Multiple answers dont hurt.

 

[The Man]

Don't worry, I'll probably be back latter, just want to check out some other threads. You seem to have the situation well in hand.

 

[Wildy]

1) one party only, but I can switch as often as I want.

2) Every 'official' party has a primary. Several people will run to be the candidate for each party. During the primary election, the 'people' choose which candidate that want for that party (but they can only vote in one primary) Whoever wins gets to run in the national election for that particular party.

Typically, only two parties have a snowballs chance in hell of winning; dems or reps. Third party candidates (or independents candidates) can and sometimes do sway the election, but don't actually win. Examples are Ross Perot in the Bush Sr/Clinton election and Namesslipsmymind (green party) in the Bush Jr/Gore election. --- Perot probably stole Bush Sr votes giving the election to Clinton and Nameslipsmymind probably stole Gore votes giving the election to Bush (but I don't want to argue about it...may not even be valid).

No, if you do join a party it can only be one, although you can always change you party affiliation. I am sure however, that there are some restrictions about when and how often in a year you can make that change although I am not sure what they are (probably depends on the state)

Primaries select which of the party’s candidates they will support for the general election.

Good, good I'm learning (it's like 2am here and I am learning. Some life I lead...).

So this party affiliation thing is basically used as a method of determining the leanings of the voters then?

If this is the case then wouldn't it be open for tampering, where a supporter of one party will make the registration of people from other parties "disappear" so these people can't vote in the primaries?

 

[Rob Lister]

Good, good I'm learning (it's like 2am here and I am learning. Some life I lead...).

So this party affiliation thing is basically used as a method of determining the leanings of the voters then?

If this is the case then wouldn't it be open for tampering, where a supporter of one party will make the registration of people from other parties "disappear" so these people can't vote in the primaries?

I'm sure that happens (and CT'ers claim it all the time) but in reality, it probably doesn't amount to a hill of beans. Typically, such records are 'overseen' by all parties involved.

Look, cheating happens on all sides by independent actors. Always has, always will. I think it pretty much evens out and besides, if such small scale cheating actually did sway an election then the vote must have been so close as to be within the margin of error for the voting system anyway.

Just my opinion.

eta: and besides, even if you're not on the voter 'roles' you can still vote and your vote will be counted if you can prove you registered -- not hard to do. Most states now allow 'insta' registration right at the polling place.

E again ta: If you want to see just how nutty the political CT'ers (people who are otherwise rational but politics makes them woo-woo) check out the Rigged 2008 election thread

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3183811#post3183811

It's a hoot!

 

[WildCat]

So this party affiliation thing is basically used as a method of determining the leanings of the voters then?

No, my guess is that it is an attempt to keep only members of a party voting in that party's primary. The Dems don't want Republicans voting in their primary for example. Of course, there's nothing to prevent Republicans from simply registering as Dems but then they won't be able to vote in the Republican primary.

Other states (such as mine) don't register you by party affiliation. In this case, when you get to the polling place you request either a Republican or Democratic ballot (but can't get both).

If this is the case then wouldn't it be open for tampering, where a supporter of one party will make the registration of people from other parties "disappear" so these people can't vote in the primaries?

Even if that happened it wouldn't really affect anything, because the number of Party A votes vs. the number of Party B votes has no relevance in a primary. I can't see the incentive to do this.

Note that this only applies in the primaries - in the general election there is only one ballot in your precinct, containing names of all candidates from all parties.

 

[WildCat]

I'll also point out that there is no such thing as a "Federal" election - the states run their own elections. And this is usually done at the county level.

 

[Oliver]

So nobody ever heard of such a registering procedure in other
western countries outside the us?

How does it works in other countries then? Automatically
registered and invited to elections as well?

 

[Pardalis]

You don't have to be registered to a party, but you have to be on the National Register of Electors, which is unaffiliated.

Parties do call you to make sure you vote (they pick your name off the Register's list), and if you say you are sympathetic to them, they will keep you on their list and call you the next year. That doesn't mean you are registered to the party, unless you campaign for them.