--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I proposed a law that every country where…" description: "\"I proposed a law that every country where the U.S. has a military base - those people should be allowed to vote in the American election.\" — Bill Ayers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/bill-ayers-1848_american-elections_i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-wher_509036.png" --- # I proposed a law that every country where the U.S. has a… ![“I proposed a law that every country where the U.S. has a military base - those people should be allowed to vote in the American election.” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/bill-ayers-1848_american-elections_i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-wher_509036.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/bill-ayers-1848_american-elections_i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-wher_509036.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/bill-ayers-1848_american-elections_i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-wher_509036.png) > “I proposed a law that every country where the U.S. has a military base - those people should be allowed to vote in the American election.” [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests extending voting rights to residents of U.S. military bases abroad. **In simple terms:** Propose voting rights for overseas base residents. Key Takeaway Consider expanding democratic participation. Themes democracy rights military policy Mood thought‑provoking political Type policy proposal When to use this quote - policy debate - legislative proposals - voter outreach Key Concepts citizenship electoral reform global governance Questions to Reflect On - Should voting rights be tied to residency? - What are the implications for sovereignty? A Different Perspective Legal and logistical challenges of overseas voting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American elections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-elections/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) ## Related quotes > [Decisions made in Washington are more important to us than those made here in Dar es-Salaam. So, maybe my people should be allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-nyerere/decisions-made-in-washington-are-more-important-to-us-than-those-made/) [Julius Nyerere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-nyerere/) > [“Every American election summons the individual voter to weigh the past against the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-american-election-summons-the-individual-voter-to-weigh-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I drafted and proposed a law to secure our borders and build the border wall - and make the sanctuary cities pay for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-strange/i-drafted-and-proposed-a-law-to-secure-our-borders-and-build-the/) [Luther Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-strange/) > [This has all the appearance of a foreign power trying to undermine structures of legitimacy of an American election. That is a serious matter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gerson/this-has-all-the-appearance-of-a-foreign-power-trying-to-undermine/) [Michael Gerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gerson/) > [One of the great cliches of campaign journalism is the notion that American elections have long since ceased to be about issues and ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/one-of-the-great-cliches-of-campaign-journalism-is-the-notion-that/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/nobody-will-ever-deprive-the-american-people-of-the-right-to-vote/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [This is a frightening statistic. More people vote in 'American Idol' than in any US election.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/this-is-a-frightening-statistic-more-people-vote-in-american-idol/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The arguments in the Brexit vote and in the American presidential campaign are about the same. In a friendly way, may I also give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-hollande/the-arguments-in-the-brexit-vote-and-in-the-american-presidential/) [Francois Hollande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-hollande/) > [Instead of continuing with his empty crusade against voter fraud, President Trump should urge his Republican colleagues in Congress to work with Democrats to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-veasey/instead-of-continuing-with-his-empty-crusade-against-voter-fraud/) [Marc Veasey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-veasey/) > [I'm entitled to my political opinions, and I get to vote because I'm an American.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/i-m-entitled-to-my-political-opinions-and-i-get-to-vote-because-i-m/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [In every American election, crazy things are said. Positions are taken which the winners try very hard to forget afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hsien-loong/in-every-american-election-crazy-things-are-said-positions-are-taken/) [Lee Hsien Loong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hsien-loong/) > [“All of this causes me to get a bit antsy before any major election. Why? Because the modern American election is an open invitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-boortz/all-of-this-causes-me-to-get-a-bit-antsy-before-any-major-election/) [Neal Boortz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-boortz/) > [Of course Russia is, let's say element, of American election campaign, was on the agenda to some extent but the influence of that element…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitry-peskov/of-course-russia-is-let-s-say-element-of-american-election-campaign/) [Dmitry Peskov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitry-peskov/) > [American election was really personal for Putin because he believed that Clinton is a personal enemy. He genuinely believed she was behind the Moscow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-soldatov/american-election-was-really-personal-for-putin-because-he-believed/) [Andrei Soldatov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-soldatov/) > [The 2012 presidential campaign's turn away from the classic, straight-up, American election - where the candidate who gets the most votes nationwide wins -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-williams/the-2012-presidential-campaign-s-turn-away-from-the-classic-straight/) [Juan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-williams/) ## More by Bill Ayers > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I didn't respond to people thrusting microphones at me and asking me questions that were unanswerable in a sound bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-didn-t-respond-to-people-thrusting-microphones-at-me-and-asking-me/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I haven't been silent. I teach, I lecture at universities, I write, I'm not silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-haven-t-been-silent-i-teach-i-lecture-at-universities-i-write-i-m/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was involved in the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-involved-in-the-anti-war-movement/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Lyndon \] Johnson was responding to a black freedom movement that was tearing the country open and he did what he had to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-was-responding-to-a-black-freedom-movement-that-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'm wary of government. Part of \[the Tea Party\] impulse is to dislike and be worried about the rich. I'm that way too. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-m-wary-of-government-part-of-the-tea-party-impulse-is-to-dislike/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'd been arrested many times by then. I'd been an organizer, so many things had changed over those three years \[from 1965 till 1968\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-d-been-arrested-many-times-by-then-i-d-been-an-organizer-so-many/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [You cannot live a political life, you cannot live a moral life if you're not willing to open your eyes and see the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/you-cannot-live-a-political-life-you-cannot-live-a-moral-life-if-you/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted to end a war. I wanted to support the civil rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-that-point-i-wanted-to-end-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school, 39 young men graduated from that prep school. Five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-fact-is-that-in-my-prep-school-i-went-to-a-boarding-school-39/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[The whole first year at university\] was a great time for me and great time of awakening. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-whole-first-year-at-university-was-a-great-time-for-me-and-great/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The truth is that the antiwar movement was powered by the working class. The students were the ones that got the media and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-truth-is-that-the-antiwar-movement-was-powered-by-the-working/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [There was one moment when J. Edgar Hoover and us had the same distorted lens about who we were - "a real threat," you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/there-was-one-moment-when-j-edgar-hoover-and-us-had-the-same/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Every politician - FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama - they're all conservative by nature. They are part of the big thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/every-politician-fdr-lyndon-johnson-abraham-lincoln-barack-obama-they/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) [Explore all 204 Bill Ayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## More American elections quotes > [One of the great cliches of campaign journalism is the notion that American elections have long since ceased to be about issues and ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/one-of-the-great-cliches-of-campaign-journalism-is-the-notion-that/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [The beauty of American elections is that anything can happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharyl-attkisson/the-beauty-of-american-elections-is-that-anything-can-happen/) [Sharyl Attkisson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharyl-attkisson/) > [One thing Republicans understand: In American elections, you have to choose from among only two people - not between the perfect and the good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/one-thing-republicans-understand-in-american-elections-you-have-to/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [American elections have usually turned on the issues of war, peace and the economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-esler/american-elections-have-usually-turned-on-the-issues-of-war-peace-and/) [Gavin Esler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-esler/) > [American elections should be for Americans. And the idea that we would have foreign nation-states coming into the American electoral process, or the information…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-sasse/american-elections-should-be-for-americans-and-the-idea-that-we-would/) [Ben Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-sasse/) > [I think Canadians, by and large, during the American election, every time Donald Trump talked about NAFTA, we felt that he was talking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-mercer/i-think-canadians-by-and-large-during-the-american-election-every/) [Rick Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-mercer/) > [I'm concerned about the integrity of American elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kirk/i-m-concerned-about-the-integrity-of-american-elections/) [Charlie Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kirk/) > [In American elections there are no losers, because whether or not our candidates win or lose, the next morning we wake up as Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/in-american-elections-there-are-no-losers-because-whether-or-not-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Russia and other countries have been hacking and attempting to attack American institutions for years, that Russia's attack on American elections has been going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reince-priebus/russia-and-other-countries-have-been-hacking-and-attempting-to-attack/) [Reince Priebus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reince-priebus/) > [I kind of resent the idea that the whole world has to be interested in the American elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-kind-of-resent-the-idea-that-the-whole-world-has-to-be-interested/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [We need a total ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-total-ban-on-foreign-lobbyists-raising-money-for-american/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Religion, for better or for worse, has been politicized in blatant ways that have seldom been equaled in American elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/religion-for-better-or-for-worse-has-been-politicized-in-blatant-ways/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [Look, Congress has allocated more money to finance the upcoming Iraqi elections than it has for the American elections. There's something wrong with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-brazile/look-congress-has-allocated-more-money-to-finance-the-upcoming-iraqi/) [Donna Brazile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-brazile/) > [It is normal for political parties to be vigilant and aggressive about their electoral interests. But Trump and the GOP have gone beyond ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamelle-bouie/it-is-normal-for-political-parties-to-be-vigilant-and-aggressive/) [Jamelle Bouie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamelle-bouie/) > [“Every American election summons the individual voter to weigh the past against the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-american-election-summons-the-individual-voter-to-weigh-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 17 American elections quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-elections/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I proposed a law that every country where the U.S. has a military base - those people should be allowed to vote in the American election.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Ayers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-where-the-u-s-has-a-military-base/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American elections" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-where-the-u-s-has-a-military-base/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/bill-ayers-1848_american-elections_i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-wher_509036.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/bill-ayers-1848_american-elections_i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-wher_509036.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/bill-ayers-1848_american-elections_i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-wher_509036.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I proposed a law that every country where the U.S. has a military base - those people should be allowed to…” — Bill Ayers", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Ayers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I proposed a law that every...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-where-the-u-s-has-a-military-base/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-proposed-a-law-that-every-country-where-the-u-s-has-a-military-base/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```