Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2016 June 4

Humanities desk
< June 3	<< May | June | Jul >>	June 5 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Humanities Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

June 4

Absentee voting in a US general election

I am a US citizen, but have lived - and continue to live - outside the US for 30 years. As a citizen, I certainly have the right to vote in a general election. As we know, the President is not elected by the popular vote, but by the Electoral College vote - state-by-state. Therefore, each vote needs to be assigned to a state. If it isn't - or cannot be - the vote is worthless; it would not be counted. How would my vote be counted?88.130.204.190 (talk) 11:35, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

Voting requirements are here[1] and here.[2] You have to be registered in a specific state. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:54, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act is the relevant Wikipedia article. Loraof (talk) 15:23, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

Your legal voting district (not just state) is the last place you lived as a resident in the United States. For 36 states, a US citizen born outside the US who has never lived in the US may register in the (last) state of residence of either of his parents. The other 14 states and all the non-state jurisdictions think it's just your tough luck. DOR (HK) (talk) 10:00, 7 June 2016 (UTC)

I'm interested in this - can you provide a link to the list of those 36 states? My Dad's a New Yorker by birth and most recent U.S. residence (albeit that was decades ago), so I inherited dual citizenship, but though I hold a U.S. Passport, I've never lived in the U.S. (just visited). Does New York allow people like me to vote in either Federal or State elections? Eliyohub (talk) 15:28, 7 June 2016 (UTC)

Actually scratch that, I found the answer at fvap.gov "A U.S. citizen who has never resided in the U.S. and has a parent or legal guardian that was last domiciled in New York is eligible to vote as a "federal voter" and may vote for federal offices only." Eliyohub (talk) 15:32, 7 June 2016 (UTC)

Here's the section for New York State:

."I am an American citizen, but I have never lived in the U.S., can I vote in this State? . A U.S. citizen who has never resided in the U.S. and has a parent or legal guardian that was last domiciled in New York is eligible to vote as a "federal voter" and may vote for federal offices only." See: https://www.fvap.gov/vao/vag DOR (HK) (talk) 10:59, 8 June 2016 (UTC)

What happens to a person's Social Security contributions if he dies before collecting any of them?

Throughout a person's working life, they contribute to Social Security in the USA. Then, theoretically, when they retire (or reach a certain age), they can start collecting Social Security. Let's say that we have a person (John) who, throughout his working life, has contributed $100,000 to Social Security. (This is just a hypothetical number to make the conversation easier.) John dies before he starts collecting Social Security. What happens to "his" money (that is, "his" $100,000 contribution)? Does it just stay put in some general Social Security fund? Or does the deceased person (and his estate) have any claim to recoup their own money? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 16:35, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

User is blocked
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
there is no money accumulating in an account..the fed govt is broke...they just pay out what they have promised via tax revenue/borrowing money from china etc..nobody gets money that would have been due to a dead person had that person not died..68.48.241.158 (talk) 16:44, 4 June 2016 (UTC) That's not correct. See the comments below. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 17:16, 4 June 2016 (UTC) it is exactly correct in practice...govt language, however, can try to disguise it as something else by calling it "insurance" or something and using other fancy legal language...68.48.241.158 (talk) 17:55, 4 June 2016 (UTC) Your statement, "nobody gets money that would have been due to a dead person had that person not died" is not correct. Read the links herein. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 18:07, 4 June 2016 (UTC) the OP was wondering if there's some kind of individual saving account that is accumulating for each person..there is not..people aren't due money that would otherwise go to the dead person had they lived...they may be due some other benefits depending on special circumstances..68.48.241.158 (talk) 18:12, 4 June 2016 (UTC) Your statement remains incorrect. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 19:12, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

It's an insurance program. If you meet certain conditions, such as living to a certain age or becoming disabled, you get paid certain amounts specified by law, which depend in part on how much you've paid in. You're not paying in to an account of your own; you're paying in to the general fund. And the payments you receive are from the general fund. It's how insurance in general works, and it's how defined benefit pension systems at companies work (except with more complicated payout rules). Loraof (talk) 17:04, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

The SSA has something called "survivor's benefits", which you can read about here.[3] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:05, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

(ec) Social Security is funded through payroll taxes called Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax (FICA) or Self Employed Contributions Act Tax (SECA). The money no longer belongs to any individual. Persons who have paid into the system have certain entitlements. A person's spouse is entitled to benefits after the death of a spouse, but it is not otherwise inheritable. older ≠ wiser 17:10, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

There are people other than spouses who can receive benefits based on someone's Social Security record. For full details see the article or the SSA website. I understand what you mean, but no Social Security benefits are "inherited", under law. The program is designed to pay out benefits to certain people. What benefits can be paid out, and to whom, are determined by the laws governing the program, and can be changed by new laws. Social Security could pay benefits to your dog if the public decided it was a good idea. I'm being pedantic to underscore what others have said: there's no "account" with your name on it that your Social Security tax gets paid into. All the money goes into one pot, and benefits are paid out of that pot. This is how pensions in general work. --71.110.8.102 (talk) 07:13, 5 June 2016 (UTC)

Take a look at the article Social Security (United States). Loraof (talk) 17:11, 4 June 2016 (UTC)

I'm not sure that private defined benefit schemes are funded in the same way as National Insurance. If a company employee defrauds his employer they sometimes collar his superannuation contributions. 151.224.132.45 (talk) 12:02, 5 June 2016 (UTC)

Thanks, all. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 15:57, 6 June 2016 (UTC)