I'm pretty sure this dogshit has cropped up a little in australia and must be frustrated wherever possible. ofc it's very limited but it shouldn't happen at all.
while local councils (effectively 'municipalities' elsewhere) are really the least effective/powerful in australia - we're very top-down in terms of 'federal->state->council' rights and responsibilities, especially moreso down south - Melbourne City Council allows the following with the justification that they administer the 'Central Business District' which mostly comprises of commercial property:
Who can enrol to vote?
If you are over 18, you can enrol to vote in the Melbourne City Council elections if you:
- rent a rateable property in the City of Melbourne – you need to have lived there for a month or more. You do not need to be an Australian citizen
- own a rateable property in the City of Melbourne and live in it
- own a rateable property in the City of Melbourne and live somewhere else in Australia
- are a business owner, who owns or leases a commercial property in the city. You could be sharing the property with another business
- represent a company or corporation that owns or leases a rateable property* in the city.
*Rateable property means an occupancy which is capable of being separately valued under section 13DC of the Valuation of Land Act 1960 but is not a single parking space, mooring location or storage unit.
while i could go either way on citizenship/permanent resident requirements for voting in this tier of elections, they explicitly give fucking landlords and representatives of corporations votes. I also remember some bullshit about business votes possibly counting for double a regular vote or something, it makes me want to scream