As a non-citizen of the United States, I’ve noticed its electoral system seems to be based on a more educated system than that of my home country, Brazil. Though in my view, most politics are corrupted, the American system does attempt to eliminate the possibility of going behind the system while promoting more educated candidates by providing several stages through which a candidate must go in order to arrive at presidency.
Having to go through primaries and the electoral college system have proven in the past to promote the views of not only the masses but the educated masses. However, the idea that a candidate can win a presidential election without the majority of the public vote is very different to me.
Also, I believe legal immigrants with green cards should be allowed to vote. In order to receive a green card, an immigrant has to live in the U.S. for several years, and most become educated in the U.S. system.
This is particularly noticeable with the recent tightening of security on foreigners in the U.S. — most legal residents get screened and educated enough to be able to make wise decision when it comes to voting in the United States.
Non-U.S. born residents cannot fill the higher positions in the U.S. government, which is understandable, since those born here are more likely to have more national pride and loyalty. But why not at least offer a screening process other than naturalization through which legal permanent residents can receive the right to vote?
I believe that most foreigners and residents would be more educated about the electoral system and about local and national campaigns if they were allowed to vote. And the more educated people there are voting for a cause, the better the decision made is likely to be, as it would encompass the views of a larger group.
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