Confession
I didn't vote. There are reasons that make sense and reasons that don't.
First of all, up until the very last minute I was undecided on the presidential election. I could have gotten an absentee ballot and just waited to see and I could have even left that space blank if I couldn't decide. But I didn't. And if I had, I'm still not sure which box I would have ticked.
On the smaller state-level elections, I don't know anything. It's not like they cover Minnesota House District 8 elections on the BBC. I did some internet research on the issues and things, but then I ran into another problem. I was reading up on the issue up for the vote in Minnesota, to raise the state sales tax to invest more in conservation. It struck me: I don't have any logical right to vote on that. Legally, I can cast my vote and no one can stop me, but logically it bothers me. If I vote in favor of higher taxes, it's a tax I never have to pay. And if I vote against it and the wildlife all dies, that doesn't affect me either. It would be so easy to tick that box and raise Minnesota sales tax, knowing that in the next ten years, I might spend up to a month there actually paying that tax.
I don't live in Minnesota. I don't pay taxes in Minnesota. I don't feel like I have a right to dictate how Minnesota is run. The same goes for the national level elections. I'm an American citizen, but is it fair for me to decide the politics of a country I only visit every few years? Frankly, I don't feel right about it. My relationship with America right now is that it's a place where some of my family lives and a place I visit once in a while. I might have family in Sweden too. And it's a lot easier for me to visit Sweden. But that doesn't mean I should vote in Swedish elections.
I'm planning to apply for British citizenship because this is where I pay my taxes and where I live. I won't be renouncing my American citizenship or anything, but I also don't know if I'll ever feel right about voting in a country I will probably never live in again.
Alana
