united-states immigration
What is the legal definition of &quot;constituent&quot;?
<p>I'm currently in US on a green card. For various reasons I'd like to engage in political process which involves sending mail to representatives.</p>

<p>Usually the prepared letters involve language such as "as a constituent". I know I cannot vote or pretend to be a US citizen. However I cannot find a clear definition of constituent - is it all people who live in a given district or is it all the people who are allowed to vote?</p>

<p>According to the <em>New Oxford American Dictionary</em>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>constituent</strong>
  being a voting member of a community or organization and having the power to appoint or elect</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It appears that the general understanding is that you should have the right to vote, and belong to a specified community such as a city, state or country, to be a constituent.</p>

<p>Of course, you could simply substitute that term for something else.</p>

<p>The representatives and senators represent both voting and non-voting residents of their district. In fact, every member of Congress has a section of their office devoted to helping people they represent in their dealings with federal agencies, which mostly ends up helping people with immigration cases, and people with immigration cases are almost all non-citizens, who cannot vote for Congress. (If you go to your Congressman's website, there will likely be a section about contacting them for help with an immigration case.) Therefore, your members of Congress definitely represent you, and I would say you are their constituent. Though that depends on what you think the definition of "constituent" is -- whether it means a voter or someone who is represented.</p>

<p>In the decision for Evenwel v. Abbott (2016), the Supreme Court wrote:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Nonvoters have an important stake in many policy debates and in
  receiving constituent services. By ensuring that each representative
  is subject to requests and suggestions from the same number of
  constituents, total-population apportionment promotes equitable and
  effective representation.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>which uses "constituent" in a way that includes non-voters.</p>
