American History

Just like any other country, the United States of America is being led by public officials who are elected by the people. Voting is the process by which the people choose someone or something and in this case, the people choose the people who will take a seat in the government (Murphy, 2006, p. 5). Voting registration requirements are almost the same for all states except for residency which varies from one state to another and on the type of election.

The right to suffrage has undergone tremendous changes through the years. Even though these changes increased the number of voters in the country, individual states still impose their specific voting regulations. The Supreme Court stated that a 30-day period is the ample time for the residency requirement (Lader, 2008, p. 277). However, there are other states which impose a shorter period such as Wisconsin which only require 10 days and Alabama which requires one day (Schmidt, et. al., 2008, p. 340).

The residents of the United States especially the permanent residents should be allowed to vote and choose the people who will lead the government. Regardless of whether they are natural born citizens of the country or lawful permanent residents, if they are permanent residents already, they should vote. Immigrants or lawful permanent residents are those who have been authorized by the law to live in the United States permanently. Though they have the liberty live in the United States, they still cannot participate in the elections and vote (Allard, 2002, p. 5).

There are several reasons why permanent residents, not only of the United States should be allowed to vote. Permanent residents should be given the right to vote in order to maintain the democracy of the country (Blais, 2000, p. 3). When people have the opportunity or right to elect who they want to take a seat in the government, then it can be said that the country is democratic. A democratic country prioritizes the needs and the wants of the people and the decision of the majority is what the government follows.

The permanent residents should also be allowed to vote because in a democratic country, voting is not only a right but also an obligation (Blais, 2000, p. 92). The consequences of electing the wrong person will always go back to the people who elected him. I believe that those who did not fulfill their obligation to vote do not have the right to complain when the governments decision does not suit them.

Another reason why permanent residents should be given the liberty to vote is they are the ones who know what will be good for their own country. They lived in the country for years and they have the knowledge of what is wrong in the government. Those who have only lived in the country for a short period of time perhaps do not know the problems in the state. Only those who have lived permanently or for a long time will be able to diagnose the problems and vote for the people who have the ability to solve the issues.

Permanent residents should also not be denied the right to suffrage because they also pay taxes and they serve the country just like in wars. They are almost the same as those who have citizenship in fulfilling their obligations such as taxpaying. Therefore, it will only be fair if they obtain the liberty to vote for those who they want in the government who allocates the taxes they pay. One of the reasons why the war was fought for the country was no taxation without representation. If the permanent residents are obliged to pay taxes and they are not allowed to vote, then the meaning of the war which was fought before meant nothing nowadays.

Indeed, I strongly believe that permanent residents who have lived in a certain country, not only in the United States should be given the right to suffrage just like those who have citizenship. The aforementioned reasons support my argument in this issue. People who are residing in one country should have the same rights and fulfill same duties.