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Choosing a Political Party

As a member of the American Military Party, I am consistently observing strife between political parties in the eUSA. This strife has led to rumors of civil unrest, though when I step back and look at the process, it makes me even more proud to be an American. After pondering the other day, I recognized that one of the best parts about being American is the fact that we have the freedom to literally do whatever we want. This freedom includes voting, or even the freedom NOT to vote! Additionally, we have the freedom to choose our own political party based off our own subjective beliefs and understandings. As a law student (meaning I am not normal), I wanted to find out where exactly this right had been established, and under what authority.

This is what I found.

In 1958, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on a controversial matter regarding racism in organizations and held, ''It is beyond debate that freedom to engage in association for the advancement of beliefs and ideas is an inseparable aspect of the 'liberty' assured by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which embraces freedom of speech. . . . Of course, it is immaterial whether the beliefs sought to be advanced by association pertain to political, economic, religious or cultural matters, and state action which may have the effect of curtailing the freedom to associate is subject to the closest scrutiny.'' NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449, 460 -61 (195😎. This ultimately led to the indirect constitutional “Right of Association.”

You would assume that this would apply to political associations, wouldn’t you? But that is not how the law works. The Court declined to speak on how political association was involved in this expansion of the 14th Amendment… that is, until Kusper came along. Kusper had previously voted Republican in a primary for munipal officers, and then wanted to vote Democratic in a subsequent municipal election. A city ordinance, Section 7-43 (d), prohibited a person from voting in the primary election of a political party if he had voted in the primary of any other party within the preceding 23 months. The Court ultimately ruled that this was unconstitutional, opening up the door for freedom of political association. Kusper v. Pontikes, 414 U.S. 51, 56 -57 (1973).



Justice Stewart

Justice Stewart explained, “There can no longer be any doubt that freedom to associate with others for the common advancement of political beliefs and ideas is a form of 'orderly group activity' protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. . . . The right to associate with the political party of one's choice is an integral part of this basic constitutional freedom.'' Id.

So how does this apply to the current strife in the political parties that encompass eRepublik?

Disputes between parties with different ideologies should be expected (see The Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, 73 Stat. 537, 29 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 411-413). If there is some form of governmental connection, the Supreme Court will refuse to hold any constitutional application to the controversy. But, there is an exception! When government forces membership in a group or some organization, the Supreme Court has held that the federal government has unconstitutionally expanded their scope.

Conclusion (for those of you that will respond tl;dr)

Have you felt pressured or bribed into joining a political party? For those of you that are new to eUSA or are looking for a political party to join, I am not asking you to join AMP, the Feds, or any other political party based off compulsion or bribery. That is what the SCOTUS has held to be unconstitutional. As a firm believer in our governmental system, I stand for an eUSA that affords these similar constitutional rights to members in the game, and outside of the game.


Listening now?!

Do your research before you join a political party. Do NOT join the group with the most members. Find the group with a common ideology that you share, and you will find success and happiness in this eWorld.