NONCITIZEN VOTING RIGHTS LEGISLATION
AROUND THE UNITED STATES:
(Proposed and Enacted)
California
Draft legislation in San Francisco schools
...Describing and setting forth a proposal to the qualified voters of the
City and County of San Francisco to amend the Charter of the City and County
of San Francisco by adding Section 13.111 to authorize San Francisco
residents 18 years of age or older who have children in the San Francisco
Unified School District to vote in elections for the Board of Education,
regardless of whether the resident is a United States citizen, and to direct
the Board of Supervisors implement, by ordinance, non-citizen voting in
School Board elections...READ
MORE
Maine
By some
legal opinions, enfranchising non-citizens in Portland would involve
modifying Article IV, Section 11 of the City Charter and Section 30-A
M.R.S.A. § 2501(2) of the state election code. Maine's Home Rule states
that, "The inhabitants of any municipality shall have the power to alter and
amend their characters on all matters, not prohibited by Constitution or
general law, which are local and municipal in character."
Click HERE for more on relevant
Maine legislation.
Maryland
Maryland's Constitution
Maryland historical background, etc.
Maryland State Board of elections
Details are in Election Law Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.
Regulations:
Code of
Maryland Regulations (COMAR), Title 33.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Senate Bill 2029 (2003)
PROPOSED:
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of section one of chapter
fifty-one of the General Laws, or any other general or special law, rule, or
regulation to the contrary, resident aliens eighteen years of age or older
who reside in the town of Amherst may, upon application, have their names
entered on a list of voters established by the town clerk for the town of
Amherst and may thereafter vote in any election for local offices and local
ballot questions....
READ MORE
Cambridge City Council Policy Order resolution
APPROVED
Notwithstanding the provisions of section one of chapter fifty-one of the
General Laws, or any other general or special law, rule or regulation to the
contrary, non-citizens eighteen
years or older who reside in the city of Cambridge may, upon application,
have their names entered on a list of voters, established by the Elections
Commission, for the city of Cambridge and may thereafter vote in any
election for school committee
members, and school committee questions and City Council. Such non-citizen
members shall remain eligible to vote in school committee and City Council
elections for so long as they remain domiciled in Cambridge... READ
MORE
Massachusetts State Assembly Bill H4540 Feb 2004
PROPOSED:
SECTION 1.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section one of chapter fifty-one of the
General Laws, or any other general or special law, rule or regulation to the
contrary, non-citizens eighteen years or older who reside in the city of
Cambridge may, upon application, have their names entered on a list of
voters, established by the Elections Commission, for the city of Cambridge
and may thereafter vote in any election for school committee members, and
school committee questions and City Council. Such non-citizen members shall
remain eligible to vote in school committee and City Council elections for
so long as they remain domiciled in Cambridge. READ
MORE
Amherst Town Warrant
APPROVED...Notwithstanding
the provision of section one of chapter fifty-one of the General Laws, or
any other general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary,
resident aliens eighteen years of age or older who reside in Amherst may,
upon application, have their names entered on a list of voters established
by the town clerk for the town of Amherst and may thereafter vote in any
election for local offices and local ballot questions...
READ MORE
Newton, MA special legislation #171-04 (language authorized October 20,
2004)
...Notwithstanding the
PROPOSED:
provision of section
one of chapter fifty-one of the General Laws, or any other general or
special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, resident aliens eighteen
years of age or older who reside in Amherst may, upon application, have
their names entered on a list of voters established by the town clerk for
the town of Amherst and may thereafter vote in any election for local
offices and local ballot questions...
READ MORE
Minnesota
HF OO71 (A Bill to Amend the State Constitution)
January 13, 2003
PROPOSED: An
amendment to the Minnesota Constitution, article VII, section 1, is proposed
to the people. If the amendment is adopted, the section will read: Section
1. Every person 18 years of age or more who has been a citizen of the United
States for three months and who has resided in the precinct for 30 days next
preceding an election shall be entitled to vote in that precinct. A local
unit of government may authorize voting in its elections by a person who is
18 years of age or more, has resided in the local government jurisdiction
for 30 days next preceding an election, and is not a citizen of the United
States but is a permanent resident of the United States under federal law...
READ MORE
New York
New York
State Assembly Bill 9180 (Lopez, 2003)
PROPOSED:
Section 1.
The legislature hereby finds and declares that the right to vote is an
essential part of membership in the communities which make up the state of
New York. In order to ensure that all persons who permanently and legally
reside in our state have a voice and a stake in the decisions made by the
political process, it is necessary and proper to extend the right to them,
as citizens of New York state, to vote in elections for offices and on
issues which affect them.
8 S 2.
Subdivision 1 of section 5-102 of the election law is amended to read as
follows:
10 1. No person
shall be qualified to register for and vote at any election unless he is a
citizen of the United States OR AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT
RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES and is or will be, on the day of such
election, eighteen years of age or over, and a resident of this state and of
the county, city or village for a minimum of thirty days next preceding such
election.
READ MORE
New York State Assembly Bill 5129 (Perry, 2003)
PROPOSED:
February 25, 2003 ...Section 1. The election law is amended by adding a new
section 5-108 to read as follows: S 5-108. QUALIFICATION OF SPECIAL LOCAL
VOTERS. 1. ANY PERSON WHO IS A RESIDENT ALIEN, WHO HAS EARNED PERMANENT
LEGAL STATUS IN THE UNITED STATES FOR AT LEAST THREE YEARS, AND WHO HAS BEEN
A RESIDENT OF THIS STATE FOR AT LEAST THREE YEARS MAY REGISTER AS A SPECIAL
LOCAL VOTER AND SHALL BE ENTITLED TO VOTE IN LOCAL ELECTIONS, PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, THAT NO PERSON WHO THOUGH ELIGIBLE, HAS NOT FILED AN APPLICATION
FOR CITIZENSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES SHALL BE DEEMED ELIGIBLE UNDER THIS
SECTION...
READ
MORE
Texas
Texas H.B.
2816 (1995) (in Microsoft Word)
PROPOSED:
SECTION 1. Title 2,
Election Code, is amended by adding Chapter 20 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 20.
VOTING BY RESIDENT ALIEN
Sec. 20.001.
LOCAL OPTION ELECTION. (a) The governing body of a political subdivision may
order an election in the political subdivision on the question of whether a
person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence, as defined by 8
U.S.C. Section 1101, may vote in an election held by the political
subdivision.
READ MORE
Washington, DC
The Equitable
Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2004
Council of the
District of Columbia Bill 15-977
Introduced July 13, 2004
PROPOSED
...Sec. 2. Section 2 of the District of Columbia Election Code of 1955,
approved August 12, 1955 (69 Stat. 699; D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.01 et
seq.), is amended by adding a new paragraph (2)(D) to read as follows:
"(2)(D) A resident alien, defined as an immigrant lawfully admitted for
permanent residence in the United States in accordance with section
101(a)(20) of the Immigration Nationality Act, approved June 27, 1952 (66
Stat. 166; 8 U.S.C. _1101(a)(20)), who otherwise qualifies under the other
provisions paragraphs (2)(A), (B), and (C), shall be entitled to vote in
local elections, which include elections for the Board of Education,
Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, the Council, and the Mayor, and any voter
initiative or referendum."...
READ MORE