Who Should Vote Where? Geography And Fairness In Migrant Voting Rights

摘要

What determines where one can vote? A resident of Melbourne, I am required by law - as a naturalised Australian citizen -to vote in council, state, and federal elections. Yet because I am also an American citizen, and because my last address - almost a decade ago - was in Contra Costa County in California, I can elect members of that county's Board of Education, approve state-wide referenda on road building funds, and vote on the American Presidency. I usually ignore local issues, feeling quite removed from decisions over schools my children will not use, or trains I do not catch, yet I certainly feel entitled to vote at state and federal levels.