US Politics on Yik Yak | I think it’s far more concerning that Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, America Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands are all living under United States jurisdiction, and are considered citizens, but aren’t allowed to vote.

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US Politics 3d

I think it’s far more concerning that Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, America Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands are all living under United States jurisdiction, and are considered citizens, but aren’t allowed to vote.

US Politics 3d

Around 7% of the people living in the US aren’t citizens. Are you saying they don’t deserve a voice

Anonymous 3d

Even worse, America Samoa people AREN’T EVEN CONSIDERED US CITIZENS. They’re essentially stateless, and completely at the mercy of the U.S. with zero say in their own country.

Anonymous 3d

From what I’ve heard American Samoans actually prefer this status because without it, they would not be able to maintain their strict land ownership laws. American Samoa heavily restricts land ownership of those who are not ethnically Samoan. If American Samoa was to be fully integrated, this system would be undone as it is discriminatiry, as would much of Samoan traditional governance.

Anonymous 3d

And here’s something even more sad. The electoral college and gerrymandering systems are so fucking broken that even if all 5 of those territories were enfranchised and had electoral votes, it still wouldn’t have changed the outcomes of any of the last 5 elections. Only the popular votes would’ve changed

Anonymous

#1 3d

A few years back there was a major lawsuit when the Northern Mariana Islands tried to limit voting rights only to indigenous people. They lost that lawsuit, and voting rights were extended to all US citizens in the islands. That’s the kind of thing American samoa is trying to avoid