I was just asked this question:
“Is it too late to join the USCF right now and be eligible to vote in this election?”
Mr. Mike Nolan of the USCF stated that it is not too late. You have a little more than a week to join the USCF to vote. You must also be 16 or older as of June 30, 2007 and live in the US to be eligible to vote. (I don’t know why a USCF member and US citizen / permanent resident living abroad can’t vote. It is not logical to me and I will bring it up later.)
Click here to join or renew your USCF membership.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
I joined just last week for that very reason. I guess the current EB can take credit for the membership spike!
What a crazy 6 months huh? To think after all that we are so near voting. Exciting.
I’m not sure why non-residents can’t vote. I suppose if you compare it to U.S. Government elections I can see the USCF’s point.
For example. I used to live in the Detroit Metro Area. I could not vote for Detroit’s mayor because I did not live in Detroit City proper. I was in a suburb. The thing is Detroit politcs can heavily influence the suburbs. In other words I could not influence who was selected as Mayor, but the Mayor could influence my daily life through his actions. Doesn’t seem fair, but I accept it.
Why can’t non US people who are members of USCF vote? If you pay your dues, you get to vote
About ‘US government elections’. A US citizen living abroad can vote in US presidential election. It can make a significant difference to the result.