The Census, Citizenship, and the Constitution - A Legacy of Slavery
This admittedly somewhat polemical essay addresses the surprisingly complex issue of how our Constitution does/should treat non-citizens (both legal and illegal) with respect to their involvement in/impact upon our political systems, both federal and state. The recent U.S. Supreme Court case of Department of Commerce v. New York, dealing with whether a citizenship question could lawfully be included in the 2020 Census, provides the jumping-off point for our discussion. The facets of our political system that are or could be affected by non-citizens include at least (1) eligibility to vote, (2) eligibility to serve as an elected public official, (3) eligibility to be included in the population base that determines the number of Congresspersons and/or members of the Electoral College to which each state is entitled, and (4) eligibility to be included in the population base that determines how many electoral districts into which a federal, state or local political entity is divided and/or how many elected representatives to which each district is entitled . We discuss what the Constitution (as written and as interpreted by the Supreme Court) has to say about each of these potential ways for non-citizens to participate in our political systems. In particular, we detail how non-citizens and their supposed rights/privileges/interests with respect to our political processes are the incidental beneficiaries of provisions in the Constitution which were part of the Framers’ multiple compromises with slavery. Finally, we express our opinion that citizenship should be the sine qua non for formal participation in our democratic institutions and processes – and we suggest some ways by which that can be made to happen
Year of publication: |
[2022]
|
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Authors: | Van Loan, Eugene M. |
Publisher: |
[S.l.] : SSRN |
Subject: | Sklaverei | Slavery | Verfassung | Constitution | Staatsangehörigkeit | Citizenship |
Saved in:
freely available
Extent: | 1 Online-Ressource (386 p) |
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Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Notes: | Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments October 11, 2021 erstellt |
Other identifiers: | 10.2139/ssrn.3940441 [DOI] |
Source: | ECONIS - Online Catalogue of the ZBW |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013322560
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