TESTIMONY
(click on underlined names for online text)
Michele Adolphe, Sharing Hearts Network (MSWord)
Yolanda Andersson, Humanist Center of Cultures
Maria Bacha, League of Young Voters
Thomas Duane, New York State Senate
Tzung-lin Fu, New York University (MSWord)
Jose A. Garcia, Institute for Puerto Rican Policy
Ron Hayduk, CUNY Professional Staff Congress (MSWord)
Aziz Huq, The Brennan Center/New York University
Doug Israel, Citizens Union (MSWord)
Cathy James (MSWord)
Kamal Kaul, Sikh Coalition
Bill Lynch, former Deputy Mayor (MSWord)
Karen Meara for the Mayor's Office (pdf)
Chuck Mohan, Guyanese-American Workers United
Rhoda Muchoki
Bryan Pu-Folkes, NICE (MSWord)
Rafael Quinde
Diana Salas, Women of Color Policy Network (pdf)
Claudia Slovinsky New York City Bar Association
Joel Shufro, NYCOSH (MSWord)
Irene Tung, Make the Road by Walking
Cheryl Wertz, NICE (MSWord)
Michele Wucker, World Policy Institute (MSWord)

Media Coverage

Queens Tribune
November 17, 2005
ALIEN SUFFRAGE: City Mulls Granting Voting Rights To Queens’ Disenfranchised 28%
By ANDREW MOESEL

When she first moved from England in 1993, Catherine James felt like she was in limbo, one foot in her old country, the other in the often-hectic landscape of New York City.

Over time, however, she noticed small signs of belonging. She bumped into people she knew on the street. The local deli had her usual order waiting for her as soon as she walked in. Slowly, the other side of the Atlantic seemed farther and farther away, and the towering skyscrapers and endless sidewalks became home.

But something still makes James feel detached from her adopted city: the fact that, as a non-citizen, she cannot vote and therefore has no say in how it’s governed. To her, it’s like dealing with a difficult loved one. READ MORE

CNN
November 16, 2005
Lou Dobbs Tonight
Segment: Racism May Be Immigration Issue (transcript)

New York Daily News
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
'No' vote for immigrants
BY FRANK LOMBARDI 

Representatives of Mayor Bloomberg doused cold water yesterday on a City Council bill that would let noncitizens vote in local elections.

Karen Meara, the mayor's director of city legislative affairs, informed the Council in writing that the Bloomberg administration opposes the bill for "legal and policy reasons."
.......
But a bevy of other witnesses testified in favor of the bill, contending that more than 1 million - and perhaps as many as 1.4 million - New Yorkers of voting age aren't allowed to vote because they aren't citizens. READ MORE

The New York Post
November 15, 2005
"Noncitizen Vote Urged"
By FRANKIE EDOZIEN

Immigration activists packed a City Council hearing yesterday to demand noncitizens be allowed to vote in municipal elections - an idea Mayor Bloomberg vehemently opposes.

The council is considering whether to let residents who've been in the city six months or longer vote in local elections......

El Diario La Prensa
15 de noviembre 2005
Concejo debate sobre el voto de inmigrantes
Por Ana Ledo/EDLP

Nueva York — El tema de reconocer el derecho al voto de los inmigrantes legales en elecciones municipales de Nueva York comenzó ayer a ser discutido en vistas públicas patrocinadas por el Comité de operaciones del Gobierno del concejo municipal.

Durante tres horas los miembros del comité escucharon los testimonios de inmigrantes legales y grupos que abogan por los derechos de estos que
discutieron cómo, entre otras cosas, los residentes legales pagan impuestos y sirven en el ejército; por ello su participación en la sociedad debe de ser reconocida en totalidad con el derecho al voto. LEE MAS

News 12 -The Bronx (Television/web)
November 14, 2005

Legal immigrants in the Bronx want the right to vote

THE BRONX - Legal immigrants from the Bronx and throughout the city protested outside of City Hall Monday to petition for equal voting rights. (with link to streaming video. not viewable from all locations)