Survey: stateside 'transplants' on this forum, who live here year-round - did you/do you vote?

Yes.

I will say, I waited 10 years before voting here for the first time, because I needed to understand a lot more about who NOT to vote for.

Maybe in another 10 years I will better understand who TO vote for as well!

Yes, and in every election since 1978, voted early yesterday.

thanks fdr and Exit Zero!

I early voted also and it was NUTS on STX! 18 years on STX and I voted every time.

fdr, I understand what you mean....

I've lived here for years and am still waiting for someone worth voting for.

It doesn't matter whose in office here...the outcome is always the same.

I vote even though the pickings are slim and caribstx is right, same result, different thief. I look at it as voting for the smartest in the special ed class.
A few young faces in though hoping for the best expecting the same.

yes

I will vote today. Lines too long to early vote.

I am hoping we will one day get a governor that will be transparent. I didn't think we would get that with Mapp so didn't vote for him.

I am somewhat conflicted as to whether transplants should vote here. Maintaining your registration in the States gives you the opportunity to vote for president and voting members in house and Senate. Those votes may have a bigger impact than voting locally because the US controls so much of what happens here and VI registered voters have no say.

We voted!

We have voted in every local election here since moving here in 2005. And I would argue that our local government I am voting for has more impact on my day to day life than the POTUS or Congress and my vote here in a relatively small pool of voters is more meaningful than it would be in a stateside election with millions of voters. But I do care who is President and recognize we are dependent on the US government for so many things.

(tu) That's how I feel too!

JE wrote:
We have voted in every local election here since moving here in 2005. And I would argue that our local government I am voting for has more impact on my day to day life than the POTUS or Congress and my vote here in a relatively small pool of voters is more meaningful than it would be in a stateside election with millions of voters. But I do care who is President and recognize we are dependent on the US government for so many things.

ms411 wrote:
I am somewhat conflicted as to whether transplants should vote here. Maintaining your registration in the States gives you the opportunity to vote for president and voting members in house and Senate. Those votes may have a bigger impact than voting locally because the US controls so much of what happens here and VI registered voters have no say.

Um, you have to be a resident to vote. If you are a resident of the VI, you cannot "maintain your registration" in the states.

The election system doesn't know if you've moved unless you tell them. If you request absentee ballot, you can vote. Many students vote absentee.

Ha ha, I tried to. Once I had been here long enough, I got registered 14 Nov which fell between the general election and run-off election and at that time the elections office told me to watch the news because the Attorney General was looking at whether registering between these two events would be legal or not. Some of you may have followed this controversy in the newspapers and on the radio. Then, just last Friday the AG ruled that it would not be allowed after all...so even though they took all my info the first time (photo id, passport, social security card, etc.), registered me and gave me a voter registration card, now I find out I'll have to go back and re-register (I think they said after the 26th Nov, there's some requisite minimum numbers of days after an election) in order to get properly registered and to get the new photo voter registration card. Like I say, I tried, lol

In a related question, does anybody know what percentage of the registered voters voted yesterday? Plus I wonder how many of those eligible to register, haven't even done so? Just curious

Yes

ms411 wrote:
The election system doesn't know if you've moved unless you tell them. If you request absentee ballot, you can vote. Many students vote absentee.

Students aren't residents. If this is your residence and you just conveniently forget to tell the system at your old residence you have moved, what does that make you?

In my opinion, it depends on where you register, if you register. We still aren't on Real ID and a few other states aren't either. Our latest law says nobody can be removed from rolls.

If you are in an area that allows online registration up until election day, it would seem as though you have a lot of flexibility.

East Ender wrote:

The election system doesn't know if you've moved unless you tell them. If you request absentee ballot, you can vote. Many students vote absentee.

Students aren't residents. If this is your residence and you just conveniently forget to tell the system at your old residence you have moved, what does that make you?

Wolverine888 wrote:
In a related question, does anybody know what percentage of the registered voters voted yesterday? Plus I wonder how many of those eligible to register, haven't even done so? Just curious

Unofficial results from the run-off election are here. These aren't final, but so far it's about 10% lower turnout than the Nov 6 election. Anecdotally, I have heard many people requested absentee ballots and/or e-mail ballots that never received them, so I bet it would be higher if everyone who wanted a ballot had been able to vote.

https://www.vivote.gov/sites/default/files/unofficialresults/ElecNight.HTM

I had read that there were more than 51,000 registered voters in the territory. I think there are a couple of articles about the general election early voting numbers that have the breakdowns. I was curious when I saw those numbers how many of those registered voters are still residents of the territory. Just found this: The Source that has the figures from the general election.

you can get real id here. its 75 extra and takes about a month to get to you.

what i was told byt the lady at the dmv

ms411 wrote:
In my opinion, it depends on where you register, if you register. We still aren't on Real ID and a few other states aren't either. Our latest law says nobody can be removed from rolls.

If you are in an area that allows online registration up until election day, it would seem as though you have a lot of flexibility.

The election system doesn't know if you've moved unless you tell them. If you request absentee ballot, you can vote. Many students vote absentee.

Students aren't residents. If this is your residence and you just conveniently forget to tell the system at your old residence you have moved, what does that make you?

I would have to pay taxes in California if I still wanted to vote. Not worth it!!

absolutely! every year since we moved here,even when the pickings were real slim [this past election perhaps?]

"absolutely! every year since we moved here,even when the pickings were real slim [this past election perhaps?"

Pickings are always slim. you are basically picked the best out a special ed class.

East Ender wrote:

The election system doesn't know if you've moved unless you tell them. If you request absentee ballot, you can vote. Many students vote absentee.

Students aren't residents. If this is your residence and you just conveniently forget to tell the system at your old residence you have moved, what does that make you?

I'm with you on this one. I hate that we can't vote for POTUS but to "forget" to tell your old home that you moved and continue to vote there, then that is basically voter fraud. If you are a full time resident of the USVI then that is where you vote.

The VI voter is generally uninformed and olny votes for best party given or friend. Do we really want that mentality voting for the POTUS?