re: #28 Nojay UK

Uh, no. The US Constitution is weird in certain spots and one of those oddball things happens to be that the President and Vice-President can’t be from the same state. This is why Dick Cheney had a rented hotel room in Wyoming as his “home” all the time he was actually living in the Observatory during George Bush’s Presidency. GWB’s “home” was in Crawford, Texas and that’s where he voted, same as Cheney voted in Wyoming. Of course being busy people they used mail-in ballots rather than turn up at a polling site in person. I expect President Obama and the First Lady did the same, probably casting their votes in the Illinois contests.

It’s the same for a lot of folks in the US, where they are registered to vote isn’t where they live some or even most of the time — students, for example. Further afield a US marine on deployment to Okinawa isn’t a Japanese resident, they are registered to vote in their home state in the US.

In UK General elections it’s a big Press event when the Prime Minister or leader of an opposition party turns up at the polling station in their constituency to cast their vote. They usually make a point of doing so rather than voting by mail-in ballot, in part because the polling station is in the constituency they directly represent in Parliament.

Two things:
1. Technically the President and VP can be from the same state. The problem is that the electors from that state cannot vote for both of them. Electors from other states don’t have that limitation. So it’s a practical not a legal limitation.
2. It’s not unusual for young people to move to apartments elsewhere, but continue to vote from their parents’ address. Sometimes it’s because they are more familiar with the people/issues at their old home or maybe their new place is really temporary and they aren’t sure where they will ultimately end up. So it’s simpler to retain the original polling site.