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Question about whether dual citizens should vote in both countries or just one
Had a chat with my cousin last weekend who has US and Canadian passports like me. He said he only votes in Canada because it's 'more ethical' to pick one country's elections. I always figured voting in both was just using my rights, but his take kinda hit different. I mean, if you vote in US elections for president and also vote in Canada for their prime minister, are you actually splitting your influence or just being a responsible citizen in both places? What do you all do when it comes to voting in your two countries?
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emeryj6618d ago
I actually heard a political analyst on the radio a few months back talking about this exact thing. She was saying that dual citizens who vote in both countries end up having double the political weight and that some people see it as a form of influence splitting. But honestly, I don't buy that argument. If you pay taxes in both places or plan to live in both countries down the road, you've got skin in the game everywhere. Your cousin's take is interesting but it feels like he's putting an arbitrary limit on himself for no real reason.
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nancyjones18d ago
Oh man, that's a really good point about the skin in the game thing lol. But I gotta ask you something - do you really think having a say in two different governments actually cancels out or makes you more informed? Like, I've seen some dual citizens who vote in both places but they barely follow politics in either one, you know? They just vote for the big names and call it a day. So how do you tell apart the people who are genuinely tuned in vs. the ones who are just checking off a box? I'm not trying to be a jerk here, I just think the real question is about whether you actually understand what you're voting for in both countries, not just whether you have the right to do it.
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shanef3417d ago
That reminds me of a buddy I had in college, Miguel... dual citizen of Mexico and the US. His dad was super into politics back in their hometown in Jalisco, so Miguel would always be on the phone with his uncles talking about local elections down there. But when US elections rolled around, he'd just skim a candidate's website five minutes before voting and call it good. One time he voted for a city council guy here because he liked the font on his yard sign... I'm not even kidding. So yeah, some people really are just checking a box, but it's not because they're dual citizens, it's because they're lazy voters in general. Miguel was tuned into one country and totally checked out on the other, so having two votes didn't make him more informed, it just meant he was half-paying attention in two places instead of one.
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