<P> Under the U.S. Constitution, the national representation of U.S. territories and the federal district of Washington, D.C. in Congress is limited: while residents of the District of Columbia are subject to federal laws and federal taxes, their only congressional representative is a non-voting delegate; however, they have been allowed to participate in presidential elections since March 29, 1961 . Residents of U.S. territories have varying rights; for example, only some residents of Puerto Rico pay federal income taxes (though all residents must pay all other federal taxes, including import / export taxes, federal commodity taxes and federal payroll taxes, including Social Security and Medicare). All federal laws that are "not locally inapplicable" are automatically the law of the land in Puerto Rico but their current representation in the U.S. Congress is in the form of a Resident Commissioner, a nonvoting delegate . </P> <P> The state governments tend to have the greatest influence over most Americans' daily lives . The Tenth Amendment prohibits the federal government from exercising any power not delegated to it by the States in the Constitution; as a result, states handle the majority of issues most relevant to individuals within their jurisdiction . Because state governments are not authorized to print currency, they generally have to raise revenue through either taxes or bonds . As a result, state governments tend to impose severe budget cuts or raise taxes any time the economy is faltering . </P> <P> Each state has its own written constitution, government and code of laws . The Constitution stipulates only that each state must have, "a Republican Government". Therefore, there are often great differences in law and procedure between individual states, concerning issues such as property, crime, health and education, amongst others . The highest elected official of each state is the Governor . Each state also has an elected state legislature (bicameralism is a feature of every state except Nebraska), whose members represent the voters of the state . Each state maintains its own state court system . In some states, supreme and lower court justices are elected by the people; in others, they are appointed, as they are in the federal system . </P> <P> As a result of the Supreme Court case Worcester v. Georgia, American Indian tribes are considered "domestic dependent nations" that operate as sovereign governments subject to federal authority but, in some cases, outside of the jurisdiction of state governments . Hundreds of laws, executive orders and court cases have modified the governmental status of tribes vis - à - vis individual states, but the two have continued to be recognized as separate bodies . Tribal governments vary in robustness, from a simple council used to manage all aspects of tribal affairs, to large and complex bureaucracies with several branches of government . Tribes are currently encouraged to form their own governments, with power resting in elected tribal councils, elected tribal chairpersons, or religiously appointed leaders (as is the case with pueblos). Tribal citizenship and voting rights are typically restricted to individuals of native descent, but tribes are free to set whatever citizenship requirements they wish . </P>

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