Luxembourg is allowing non-citizens to vote

[conuly]

And lowering the voting age to 16. Go Luxembourg!

Of course, you see that stoplight in the picture? Yeah, that's their only stoplight. Blink and you'll miss it, that's Luxembourg. How they support three languages on just under 1000 square miles, I don't understand. (Three official languages, that is!)

Comments

[redbird]

Three languages in a thousand square miles isn't that many; consider the area of New York City.

[conuly]

I did, actually, after I posted.

[silver-chipmunk.livejournal.com]

Hey Switzerland has five ya' know.

[silver-chipmunk.livejournal.com]

(languuages, that is. Stoplights, no idea)

[conuly]

*grins*

Oh, Luxembourg probably has more than the one stoplight. I guess.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Oh. I got excited thinking it would be in their national elections, but it appears not. Seems to be more local/regional which... I thought was already an EU-wide requirement, that you have the right to vote based on where you live. But apparently not.

I do think the EU as a whole needs to look at the issue of voting for non-citizens though. With the right to freedom of movement between EU states, and the right to work and live wherever you want, there is little need for you to attain citizenship - a costly and many-hooped procedure. Except you end up living in a country - potentially for decades - and never getting to vote for its government. Sure you can vote in local elections, and European elections, but never national ones. Despite paying tax. Whatever happened to no taxation without representation?

[conuly]

Whatever happened to no taxation without representation?

I didn't know you said that over there!

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Well who did you think you were shouting it at? ;0)

But seriously, I say it as a very conscious Americanism. It's a phrase which is specifically associated with the American Revolution - and might not even be widely known, I'm not a good judge of what's an ordinary level of general knowledge. Even without it being a particularly British phrase though, I still think the idea behind it is sound - if you're living in a country, paying thousands of pounds of tax in a country (remember that our higher rate of tax, kicking in around £37k pa, is 40%) then you should have a say in how that country is run. Meanwhile you can still vote in your 'home' country (which you might not have ever lived in!) even though you likely aren't paying any tax there. I think within the EU it ought to be possible to work out a way to gain voting rights without having to take citizenship.