U.S. Legislative Immigration Reform Update October 19, 2010
Coastal Cities Seek to Approve Non-Citizen Voting Measures this November
Measures to permit non-citizens the right to vote will appear on ballots in both San Francisco, California and Portland, Maine this November. If passed, Proposition D in San Francisco would allow non-citizens who are parents, guardians, or caregivers of public school students to vote in local school board elections. (SF Gate, Sept. 29, 2010) Going even further than San Francisco’s Proposition D, a proposed amendment to the Portland, Maine charter would permit non-citizens to vote in city-wide elections if passed by voters. (The Portland Press Herald, Aug. 11, 2010)
Arguing in support of Proposition D, San Francisco Supervisor David Chiu stated that “About 1 in 3 students in the San Francisco district have at least one immigrant parent, and they should have a say in their children’s education.” (SF Gate, Sept. 29, 2010) However, both U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera argue that the proposal violates the California Constitution. Discussing a previous and nearly identical 2004 measure in San Francisco, Proposition F, Feinstein remarked, “Allowing non-citizens to vote is not only unconstitutional in California, it clearly dilutes the promise of citizenship.” (Statement by Senator Diane Feinstein, Jul. 21, 2004) Similarly, in a 2004 memo, Herrera stated “There is a substantial likelihood that a court would conclude that the amendment conflicts with the California Constitution and is therefore invalid.” (SF Gate, Sept. 29, 2010)
Akin to the argument for San Francisco’s Proposition D, supporters of Portland’s charter amendment believe that non-citizens should have a voice in local government. “The principal of our petition is the same that founders of this country believed—‘no taxation without representation,’” said Mohammed Dini, an original member of the amendment’s petitioner’s committee and a Somali immigrant who has become a U.S. citizen. (The Portland Press Herald, Aug. 11, 2010) “Democracy would be well served in Portland to extend the voting franchise to a larger base of our community,” commented Anna Trevorrow, a Portland Charter Commissioner in support the amendment. (Id.) However, Gary Wood, Portland City Attorney, stated that it’s unclear whether non-citizen voting would be upheld by the courts. (Portland Daily Sun, Mar. 22, 2010) Wood observed, “There is a home rule argument to be made in favor of allowing non-citizens to vote in municipal elections by charter, but it is a coin toss.” (Id.)
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), passed by Congress in 1996, made it a federal crime for non-citizens to vote in any federal election. (See FAIR Immigration Issues, Nov. 2003) Nonetheless, several local governments have passed measures permitting non-citizens to vote in certain local elections. For example, Takoma Park, Maryland, a Washington D.C. suburb, has allowed non-citizens to vote in local elections since 1992, and Chicago, Illinois allows non-citizens to vote in school board elections. (Center for Immigration Studies, Apr. 2008) In addition, several cities in Massachusetts have passed non-citizen voting measures; however, the state legislature refused to approve them. (Id.)
Harold
Hopefully it will only apply to those areas that voted on it. If so it opens the door to a legal challenge and perhaps with luck and a Patriot Judge we get a proper description and Constitutional significance of Citizenship as being a fundamental factor of being an American and carries with it many fundamental issues that are revealed by the Oath of Allegiance and cannot be taken lightly. It may also finally bring up the fact that a child cannot decide on he subject until it is of age.
Proper courses should be include in school curriculum of Civics that spells out the duty and responsibility that come with Citizenship. Perhap we should have all young people take the pledge for citizenship.
We need to strengthen that point if we want proud and responsible citizens. We the People should demand it of our schools and our Government.