They are not registered elsewhere.
I’m not sure that means that the previous tenant of my apartment isn’t registered elsewhere.
Maybe he’s voting somewhere else; and the voting rolls are just sloppy.
Or maybe he’s dead.
Who knows? If we didn’t live here now, determined to do the right thing - and the person who did just threw the application on the floor under the mailbox - some other individual could guarantee that ‘stranger’ voted even if he WERE dead.
This is a sloppy system of voting, rife with opportunities for fraud and then endless contestation and litigation.
It’s also sort of inhuman, and cuts us out of a regular opportunity to meet our fellows while collectively engaging in our responsibilities toward the national life.
I’ve met and had wonderful conversations with people at the polling place. I never knew who they were voting for - we never talked about politics, just other stuff. But I enjoyed meeting them and knowing that we were both responsibly fulfilling our duties as citizens.
Everyone I’ve ever met at a polling place always seemed proud and happy to be there, and engaged others in a very friendly, civil way. Changing that tradition will create a deep wound to our unity and social cohesion.