how do I vote in the 2004 elections??

I'm in the same situation. I'm moving to St. Thoma in 18 days and I was thinking about completing an absentee ballot but I haven't looked into it yet. Please let me know if you find out more info.

I'm not trying to be a smart-aleck, but if you really want to vote in the 2004 presidential election, without committing voter fraud, then do not relocate to the Virgin Islands until after the election.

If you relocate to the Virgin Islands and intend it to be your home before then, you must learn to live with the fact that you are not entitled to vote for President, U.S. Senate, or a voting member of the House of Representatives.

Molly,
I understand that, because the VI are a territory, you have no voting rights. Too bad because every vote counts.
John

You can still vote for president if you're not "officially" a VI resident but a resident of your state. I know of people here with stateside residencies who have voted for president.

Dominic,
A large number of our boats do this however they do spend a portion of the year in the mainland. Why not register to vote down here and join the large number of us who are lobbying to be allowed to vote for President?

Now that we are on the subject, what does everyone think of the gentleman on the hunger strike? While I empathize with his passionate desire to exercise a civic duty--voting for Prez--I wonder what effect he will have realistically. Also, how long does he REALLY plan on going without solids? Anyone know him and/or his plans?

Post Edited (08-10-04 10:26)

thanks everyone. I don't know what the definition of being an "official resident" is. but i think it has something to do with living there 90 days. if that is the case, i won't be considered a resident until after the elections... and i suppose i could just fill out the form as if i intend to return to the US in a few months-- i'm sure i wouldn't be the first person to decide to stay in a new country after arriving there and "vacationing" for a couple months... i don't know. i agree that it's stupid that VI residents can't vote and you bet i'll be involved in the lobbying to vote, but in this election i cannot risk not having my vote count.
do you think this is voter fraud? i've been living in the states my whole life, paying taxes, voting in all the primaries and election and i feel that i've earned my vote in this election. i mean there is the chance of course that i'll hate STT and leave within a couple months anyway (not likely!) 🙂

Everyone who has recently relocated here who is already a US Citizen should at least be able to vote in the federal election by absentee ballot under provisions for allowing overseas citizens to vote. These are the folks that were the key to the Florida vote count in 2000, and both campaigns are heavily courting the overseas voter population this year.

Here's the specifics about being an overseas voter from the UNIFORMED AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT (UOCAVA) -- found at http://www.fvap.gov/laws/uocavalaw.html

An "overseas voter" is defined as --

(A) an absent uniformed services voter who, by reason of active duty or service is absent from the United States on the date of the election involved;

(B) a person who resides outside the United States and is qualified to vote in the last place in which the person was domiciled before leaving the United States; or

(C) a person who resides outside the United States and (but for such residence) would be qualified to vote in the last place in which the person was domiciled before leaving the United States.

Depending on your state and your specific circumstances (e.g. are you still registered to vote in your former state), you can be eligible to receive a state and federal absentee ballot or just a federal absentee ballot. To find out specifics related to your state, visit:

http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/vag/vagchapter3.html

You can apply to receive an absentee ballot by completing the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), located at:

http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefpca.html

Now get out there and make your voice heard!

From your friendly neighborhood grassroots organizer and get out the vote activist,
HC

Post Edited (08-10-04 10:33)

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! great info!

This is a conversation I had with my fiance just last night. Retaining his citizenship is a big deal to him, especially the right to vote, and was the deciding factor in our decision not to move to Barbados four years ago. I was under the impression that usvi residents got a vote for their federal representatives at least. I'm glad Molly started this thread because after last night I decided to research more in depth the government. Needless to say that from Texas and without a functioning government website, this hasn't proven to be an easy task. If anyone has informative links or would like to discuss the situation, please email me at luckiM@msn.com

It's a done deal. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Not to burst anyone's bubble, but based on what I just read on the site mentioned above, as a resident of the USVI you do not qualify as living overseas. Overseas is defined as "outside of the United States" and United States is defined as "where used in the territorial sense, means the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa." I was getting excited, too.

Marianna,
How do they define residency? do you have to have an address in STT, a job there? do you become a resident after 90 days there automatically? seems like i wouldn't be a "resident" right away, esp if i've only been on the island for less than 3 months before the elections.
I realize that after this Nov, i wouldn't be able to vote in future elections, but I'm most concerned at this point about voting in Nov. Do you really relinquish your rights as a US citizen by living in STT? I thought that was one of the great things about the US VIs is that you still get full protection/citizenship there

Marianna,

Bubble burst aside, thanks -- the devil is really in the details, and definitions can make or break anything.

Molly, the definition of resident often depends on what you are trying to do. For example, you are considered a resident of the state of Michigan in terms of paying taxes, running for office, etc. if you live there for a certain period of months consecutively. However, in order for people who have moved from another state to get resident status that qualifies for in-state tuition rates at state universities, you must reside in Michigan without working for a period of one year. In the 1980's, a wonderful state Senator named William Sederberg enrolled in Michigan State's MPA program while serving in the state Senate but was charged out of state tuition for the whole program because he had not lived in Michigan for a full year without being employed in the 20 years since he relocated to that state. WTF???

TIme to start the quest for info on when/how one becomes a resident of the USVI. Wish now that I had just rented out our DC place for a while so I could still declare that my residence. until afdter November 2.

http://www.fvap.gov/
http://www.fvap.gov/laws/uocavalaw.html

Molly

The first link is the home page and from there you can find lots of useful info, especially in the faq. I haven't looked through everything, so I don't really know how to answer your question about residency. I am very interested in knowing the answer to this as well. But speaking purely from my own personal experience, the address listed on your driver's license is your legal address. Legally, you should change your address as soon as you have a new one. But then legally my mother's address is still my legal address and I haven't lived there in over four years. So I think that you can slip thru the cracks on that 90 days, but I would do a lot of research on it because I also read that they will fine you and/or jail you for up to 5 years if they figure out what you're doing. I don't know what state you're in now, but if it's a swing state and it comes down to it, you could find yourself in a lot of trouble ; )
Let me know what you figure out, and I'll keep researching on my end and let you know what I come up with.

I believe I would listen to MsChuy...The US Virgin Islands is an unincorporated territory of the United States. When you move here you will still be a citizen of the United States. The Electoral College selects the president and is made up of representatives of the 50 States.

Here's the definition of VI resident for tax purposes, excerpted from an article on taxes published in the VI Bar Herald ( http://www.onepaper.com/vibarherald/?v=d&i=&s=Bar+Info:Law+Review+%26+Articles&p=49166):

"For United States citizens and permanent residents, Virgin Islands residence for tax purposes is determined by reference to the facts and circumstances prevailing on December 31 of a given year. The taxpayer's bona fide intentions and state of mind are relevant to the determination of residence. For example, a person living in Ohio who accepts a new full job in the Virgin Islands and arrives shortly before Christmas would be treated as a Virgin Islands resident for the entire year ending December 31.

"Of course, there are specific facts and circumstances that indicate a person has become a Virgin Islands resident for income tax purposes. Some of the factors that show residence are: (1) the purchase of a home or entering into a long-term (i.e. one year or more) residential lease arrangement; (2) engaging in a full time employment or business activity, particularly when coupled with termination or transfer from a full time job elsewhere; (3) presence of the taxpayer's immediate family members with the taxpayer, particularly a spouse and minor children; (4) relinquishment of privileges and rights inconsistent with Virgin Islands residence and establishment of equivalent privileges and rights in the Territory, such as voter registration and motor vehicle operator licenses, and (5) establishment of community ties consistent with a non-transitory presence; for example, joining a civic organization or social club, or getting a library card. "

~~read with sarcasm, please~~ I just love laws that take state of mind into account -- they're so easy to prove.

HC.

To Marianna, that deciding factor on moving to Barbados was not very well researched. I believe any American that moves out of the country retain the right to vote by absentee. The vote would count in the state/district that that person belonged to last before moving.

USVI is an exception since you are not actually moving out of the country, you are still in the USA. Just in a district/territory that has no congress representation and therefore, by default, no vote in the electoral college.

(Interesting to note is that the nation's capital, in the District of Columbia, also has no congress representation, but still three electoral college votes. How they got this exception I don't know, but you would imagine they would be in the neighborhood for lobbying...)

But, in case it makes you feel better, it is not "taxation without representation" since tax paid by USVI residents does not go to the federal government, but instead to the black hole of the territorial revenue service.

Not so for me, since I'm a foreign national (with a green card) and I don't have the right to vote in US election no matter where in the US I live, but I'm still being taxed like anyone else. That's OK, voting is a right and a duty that comes with citizenship and I still vote in elections in my home country via absentee. I do think that residents here and in other US territories should push and push hard for at least one electoral college vote to represent their territory. That's not too much ask, is it? Just for the principle.

this sucks!!! i don't think i'll be able to vote if i sign a lease, get a job, or get a driver license (anything that establishes myself as living on STT).... i'm so mad. thank god that my state isn't a swing state

🙁

From what my husband explained to me about the US elctions, the Virgin Island can only become a part of the voting process if they become a state. Even in that case because of their small size would not really have more than one vote in the presidential elections if even that. I am not sure why this man does do this to himself. I wonder if he did his homework on this issue.
Iris

Iris,
Doesn't PR have a vote in the Federal Elections?

Nope.

BTW, Pamela, I just sent you an email re. the Caribbean International Film Festival..Looking forward to your thoughts.

pamela,

Nope, PR does not have a seat in the electoral college.

The college is limited to 538 total votes, but the distribution of votes changes each decade based on the population counts from the decennial national census. The number of electoral college votes for every state equals the number of seats that state holds in the US House of Representatives and US Senate. DC, as pointed out earlier,l is the big exception. In addition to being the only non-state that takes part in the electoral college, the District also gets three seats in the electoral college even though it is not represented in the US Senate.

And since this got me started, I found some interesting pieces of trivia (at least to me) re: the electoral college.

**Individual electors are expected to vote for the candidates of the party that nominated them., but most constitutional scholars believe that electors, once chosen, remain free agents and are able to vote for any candidate who meets the requirements for President and Vice President. Only seven electors have cast a free agent vote for someone other than their party's candidate in the last 100 years, and there was one blank vote cast in 2000.

**Even though the 23rd amendment to the Constituion granted DC seats in the electoral college, the DC electors only participate in the first vote. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes and a contingent election must be held, the DC electors cannot participate.

**In all but two states, the electoral college is winner take all: the candidate who receives the plurality of popular vote in the state receives all of its electoral votes. The other two states -- Maine and Nebraska -- use a "district" system that counts each vote twice, once to determine which party/candidate wins two "at large" electors, and a second time by congressional district, where the majority winner in that district is awarded the seat in the electoral college. While a bit confusing, the basic idea behind the district system is to ensure that voters who picked the "losing" candidate still get a voice in the electoral college.

Sorry to go off-topic geek like this -- politics is my passion and this subject gave me a good excuse to brush up on this rather obscure subject. *blush* Hope you can forgive the nerdiness of all this.

HC

To the person who asked about DC and why they have electors: they got a constitutional amendment. The 23d, to be precise. That's the other option, short of statehood, for allowing VI residents (and Guam, and Puerto Rico, etc., etc.) the ability to vote in national elections.

Check out this guy's site, he's got a lot of interesting info related to "Island Law": http://www.macmeekin.com/

PR tried to litigate this a few years ago and lost. The 1st Circuit basically said, Art. II, § 1, cl. 2 of the U.S. Constitution allows only "states" to appoint electors and, since you ain't a state, you don't get a say. If you're really geeking out on this, you can read the decision here: Igartua de la Rosa v. United States, 229 F.3d 80 (1st Cir. 2000).

VB