Did anybody else catch John Oliver on HBO this Sunday?

[Coconuts]

I love his show, but was more than a little surprised on Monday night (I don't stay up for his show, but rather DVR it, and watch it the following night) when a photo and mention of the 50th anniversary of Selma, and the Civil Rights Act, quickly morphed into an impassioned plea for voting rights for the many Americans residing in US Territories. It opened with an excerpt from speech before Congress last week by the VI's delegate to Congress, Stacey Plaskett (who recently succeeded Donna Christian-Christensen). I really had no idea of the crazy origins of the non-voting status of our Territories, nor the fact that the restrictions, originally imposed in 1901, were meant at the time to be temporary (we purchased the VI in 1917, but we had other Territories well before then). The rest of the segment is more concerned about Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa than the VI, although the VI flag is prominently featured in the upper left. John Oliver's spotlight on net neutrality may well have tipped the balance on that topic, and who knows, perhaps this segment could help ignite a reexamination of the very curious twist by which the many Americans living in our Territories are denied the franchise.

For those of you who missed it, a YouTube clip of this segment is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CesHr99ezWE

All the best,

Kevin

[iheartsj]

I too didn't know the origin of this. It's a shame that US citizens living in the VI can not vote in federal elections. US citizens who are permanent residents of foreign countries can vote by absentee through the last state in which they lived.

An impediment to VI voting for president is that the president is actually elected by the electoral college and the VI has no senator or representatives.

The electoral college was created because the politicians didn't trust the general public to make an intelligent decision on president.

[ms411]

We don't pay federal taxes, so we'd get to vote without financial support of the federal government. Does that seem fair to you? Did anybody mention that?

[Coconuts]

Well, at least we "don't pay" the federal government using Form 1040A

Background for those not filing in the VI: We fill out form 1040A just as if we were mailing the form and check to Washington, same tax rate schedule, etc, but send the form and the check to the VI government instead.

All the best,

Kevin

[Teresa_Rae]

We don't pay federal taxes, so we'd get to vote without financial support of the federal government. Does that seem fair to you? Did anybody mention that?

Seems totally fair to me!