Quote:
Originally Posted by PepsiFree
I think you missed the point, which was “why is citizenship the bar” when in many places, from the US where just being a citizen isn’t enough to New Zealand and the EU where you don’t have to be a citizen at all, it isn’t. Worth noting, since we’re noting things we should note, that some states in the US do allow some non-citizens to vote in some elections.
Nobody seems to be able to formulate an answer, other than some variation of “because mom said so.”
It’s not like I decided New Zealand was an example of a healthier democracy, I cited the democracy index. How can they be a healthier democracy than Canada or the US if they let non-citizens vote, something supposedly just political gamesmanship and an antithesis to the “bellwether” of democracy?
But hey. Gotta stop those immigrants who pay taxes from helping decide their councillor.
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You seem to be caught up on the democracy index and New Zealand being high and somehow attributing that solely or largely on non citizen voting. There are apparently 60 metrics driving that index of which suffrage is a small part. Despite non citizen voting rights being established in 1975 the voter turnout has steadily dropped in New Zealand. It has gone from the high 80% - low 90% range up until the late 80s down to high 70% - low 80% now.