The Immigrant Voting Project 
News Coverage

December 2005

Hardbeat News
Fri. Dec. 9, 2005

The Struggle For Over 1.3 Million Greencard Holders To Vote

By Chuck Mohan

NEW YORK, N.Y., : Two years ago, the Guyanese-American Workers United was invited to attend a forum, organized by the New Immigrant Community Empowerment at the Flushing Library to discuss the subject of, non-citizens voting in New York City Municipal elections. Even though I was aware of this vibrant grass root organization and its exceptional work, this was the first time I attended one of their events on behalf of GAWU.

Since that forum, in keeping with its history and mission, NICE became the initiator and uniting force of this campaign. To date, they have been able to organize fifty eight community based organizations and individuals into the, New York Coalition to Expand Voting Rights, whose mission is, “to amend New York City law so that documented immigrants will be able to vote in local elections.” READ MORE

November 2005

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)

There's a controversial proposal under debate in New York City now that would give non-citizens a protected privilege of American citizenship, the right to vote. Supporters of the legislation say non-citizens that pay local taxes should also have their say at the ballot box. It's an intriguing idea. READ MORE

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" (link not available)
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......  (link to full text not available)

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

Portland (Maine) Press-Herald
November 3, 2005
Right to Vote Is Restricted or Even Denied for Too Many People
Community Voices/Leigh Donaldson

City Limits Magazine (New York City)
November/December 2005

20 Big Ideas for Our Next Mayor
Expanding Voting Rights is #6: "It’s time to give all New Yorkers the voice they deserve."

September 2005

City Limits Weekly
September 19, 2005
"Poll Position: Groups Push for Voting Rights"
By Emma Holmgren
As the city turns its attention toward the November 8 general election, two voting rights groups are kicking their own campaigns into high gear.

"Voting has never been a right in America. It has been a privilege,” said Joseph “Jazz” Hayden, campaign director for Unlock the Block, a coalition of 85 organizations working to change the law prohibiting citizens with felony records to vote.

His group was joined at a rally held last Monday outside the Board of Elections by the New York Coalition to Expand Voting Rights, a network of 57 community-based groups working to allow documented non-citizens to vote in municipal elections. Together the two coalitions represent hundreds of the thousands of New Yorkers, predominantly minorities, who can't vote.  READ MORE
 

June 2005
Hoy/Independent Press Association Voices
20 June 2005
Resident immigrants demand the right to vote

By Maruxa Relaño
Translated from Spanish by Christ Brandt.

Politicians are not the only ones on the campaign trail these days.

Forty-two city grassroots organizations have a definite agenda and are in the streets talking with people, calling in academic experts, holding community forums, and writing letters to politicians.

What motivates them is the proposal, in the City Council, of the possibility of granting the right to vote in the municipal elections to immigrants who are residents, a bill introduced by Councilmember Bill Perkins.

Organizations that represent immigrants’ interests have been trying for a year and a half to build favorable public opinion with their message in support of extending the right to vote. READ MORE

May 2005

Legal Affairs
"Debate Club"

Should noncitizens be allowed to vote?
Jamin Raskin versus Matthew Spalding

May 10-15

April 2005

Queens Tribune
April 28, 2004
New American News: Non-Citizen Vote Debate Spurs Bill
Queens immigrants pay taxes, own property and lend their voices to political issues, but do not have the right to vote in municipal elections. 

By Molly Langmuir

Diana Salas emigrated from Ecuador to New York 10 years ago. She is now 25 years old, lives in Woodside and speaks perfect English. She has a Masters Degree in Public Administration, pays taxes and considers herself to have been raised in the United States. But when Election Day comes around, there is something that separates her from the rest of her family, all of whom have obtained U.S. citizenship – she can’t vote.

The electoral rights of non-citizens have become the subject of increasing debate. Legislation introduced to the City Council April 20, which would give non-citizen residents of New York City the right to vote in municipal elections, has spurred debate.

On the one hand are groups like the New York Coalition to Expand Voter Rights, which represents more than 50 organizations rallying in support of the legislation. And on the other hand are people like Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council Speaker Gifford Miller. The mayor said he believes the issue raises significant legal questions. “The State Constitution only provides the right to vote to U.S. citizens,” he said in a statement released in 2003. READ MORE

The New York Post
Mike Says Nay to Giving Noncitizens the Vote
By FRANKIE EDOZIEN

April 16, 2005 -- Immigrant advocates yesterday rallied to back a measure that would allow noncitizens to vote, but it was opposed by Mayor Bloomberg while the only Democratic mayoral candidate to back it was Virginia Fields.

"Ultimately, we want all those who are legal to be able to vote. It's the democratic way. They pay their taxes," said Councilman Bill Perkins, who plans to introduce legislation next week that would permit noncitizens to cast ballots in municipal contests.

Ron Hayduk, a social science professor at Borough of Manhattan Community College, said the legislation is a "huge step in realizing the promise of democracy, which is everyone who is a member of that community will have a say in how the rules are made. The essence of democracy is inclusion." READ MORE

The New York Sun
April 12, 2005
EDITORIAL & OPINION
Upside-Down Melting Pot
John P. Avlon

Immigration debates convulse American politics every decade or so, and it appears as though we're entering that silly season again. While right-wing activists known as the Minutemen are patrolling the Arizona border with an eye out for illegal immigrants, left-wing advocates in New York have convinced a City Council member to put forward a bill that would legalize noncitizen voting in America's largest city.

Council Member William Perkins of Manhattan has drafted a bill that would allow any immigrant over the age of 18 who has been a resident of New York City for more than six months the right to vote in all local elections.

The bill - a draft copy of which was acquired by The New York Sun -borrows its language almost exactly from the advocacy organization New York Coalition to Expand Voting Rights. It is full of high-minded talk of how immigrants were able to vote in the early decades of the United States and run for offices including "alderman, coroner and school board member." Now the "no taxation without representation" banner is being raised on behalf of New York's 1.3 million voting age immigrant noncitizens. READ MORE

December 2004

The Newton TAB
Wednesday, December 8, 2004

Letter: Non-citizen voting `a simple matter of logic'

The proposal to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections is terrific, and I support it with enthusiasm. Alderman Hess-Mahan should be congratulated for his work on the issue.

There is no such thing as a "Newton citizen." There are only United States citizens, Germany citizens, Uganda citizens, Russia citizens, etc., etc. Citizenship is a national thing, at least for now. Why, there are not even "Massachusetts citizens." State citizenship was abolished with the new Constitution in 1789.

My daughter-in-law, a citizen of South Africa, has tremendous loyalty to Newton, where she lives and owns a business. Why on earth should she, and the hundreds (thousands?) like her in our fair city be denied a vote in municipal affairs, especially when we allow transient citizens from Alabama or Alaska to have as much of a voice as long-time "real" Newton people?

This is not an issue of being good liberals or of diluting the meaning of citizenship as the head-in-the-sand Newton Taxpayers Association folks argue. It is a simple matter of logic, common sense and fairness. Everyone who lives here and in some way contributes to the health and well being of our community — even if they're all not legal citizens of this country — should have a voice in the affairs of Newton!

John Stewart, alderman
Newton Lower Falls

September-November 2004

The Newton TAB.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Sen. Joyce says there's no support for immigrant voting.
By Sarah Andrews
While aldermen bat around a measure that would allow green card-holders to vote in local elections, the state legislator in charge of elections says it's unlikely to happen anytime soon.

If Newton aldermen pass the item, they will join the ranks of two other well-known, liberal communities - Amherst and Cambridge - who have already locally approved voting rights for permanent resident immigrants in local elections.

But because Massachusetts is a "Home Rule" state, meaning a municipality can ask for local exemptions to state laws, the state legislature must first give its permission before these voting rights are implemented. Amherst has been waiting eight years for this approval, Cambridge six.

And Sen. Brian A. Joyce, D-Norfolk, Bristol, Plymouth, the senate chairman of the joint committee on election laws, said that's because state-wide, there's not a lot of support for the idea. "Voting is one of the rights and privileges that comes with citizenship," he said. "And I think the will of the legislature would be to promote non-citizens to strive toward citizenship." READ MORE

The Newton TAB
Editorial: Give immigrants the right to vote
Wednesday, November 17, 2004

No matter where you were born, if you're a taxpaying resident of Newton, you share common concerns with your neighbor. Taxes are going up? You'll both pay more. Schools are charging bus fees? You will both be getting out your checkbooks. An alderman wears an offensive T-shirt? You should be able to chose whether he stays or goes. READ MORE

Newton Tab
Immigrant voting debated
By Sarah Andrews/ Staff Writer

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

For the past 12 years, Alison Rolfe has lived in Newton, paid taxes on her Newtonville home and sent her four kids to the Newton Public Schools.

During this time, Rolfe has never once voted for the local politicians who determine her property tax rate or help shape the curriculum taught to
her children.

Rolfe understands. She's not a United States citizen, therefore she can't vote.

It doesn't mean she agrees with it.

"We pay taxes and we send our children to public school," said the British-bred resident. "It would be nice to have a say in the local elections that affect us in the community that we live in." READ MORE
 

Hoy
November 12, 2004
(translation in Voices That Must Be Heard November 25, 2004)

By Maibe González Fuentes, Hoy, 12 November 2004.
Translated from Spanish by Chris Brandt

Dominican Luis Miranda, 48, is intensely involved in politics, knows the names of his legislators, attends the meetings of his community organization in Washington Heights, where he occasionally puts forward a proposal, and on election day waits anxiously for the results.

“It hurts me to say I can’t vote,” says Miranda, who has been a legal resident of New York for 16 years, but is not a citizen.

Legal resident immigrants have resigned themselves to the fact that, although they pay taxes and actively participate in the economy, voting is a right reserved for citizens.

It hasn’t always been this way. A quick glance at history reveals the unthinkable: for the first 150 years of democracy in this country, immigrants had the vote. The old slogan “no taxation without representation” returns today with the same force that succeeded in bringing the vote to African-Americans and women. READ MORE

The Newton Tab
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Immigrant voting debated

By Sarah Andrews/ Staff Writer

....At a public hearing tonight, Wednesday, Newton residents will discuss whether non-citizen, permanent residents such as Rolfe should be allowed to vote in local elections. The proposal, which was put forth by Alderman Ted Hess-Mahan, won the approval of the Programs and Services Committee on Oct. 20 and could go before the full board as early as Dec. 6. READ MORE

The Newton Tab
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Editorial: Give immigrants the right to vote

No matter where you were born, if you're a taxpaying resident of Newton, you share common concerns with your neighbor. Taxes are going up? You'll both pay more. Schools are charging bus fees? You will both be getting out your checkbooks. An alderman wears an offensive T-shirt? You should be able to chose whether he stays or goes. READ MORE

The New York Sun
November 12, 2004
Effort To Allow 'Alien Suffrage' Has Reemerged (subscription site)
By DANIELA GERSON

A movement to allow noncitizens to vote in New York City's municipal elections is emerging again after the mayor rejected the idea last spring. A bill to allow "alien suffrage," as it is sometimes called, will be introduced at City Hall by the end of the year, the City Council member drafting the legislation, Bill Perkins, said. Meanwhile, unions and immigrant groups have been actively mobilizing around the issue, meeting with politicians and editors of foreign-language publications to build momentum for noncitizen voting.

Advocates of the measure argue that voting in local elections justly enfranchises a significant component of the taxpaying population, since the city has more than 1 million legal residents of voting age. Opponents maintain that voting is a privilege that should be reserved for citizens.

Noncitizens' voting rights could become a divisive issue in the 2005 mayoral campaign. One of the mayor's likely opponents, Fernando Ferrer, is a vocal supporter of the proposal. READ MORE (subscription site)

Migration Information Source
November 1, 2004
Immigrant Voting Rights Receive More Attention

By Ron Hayduk, Borough of Manhattan Community College, and Michele Wucker, World Policy Institute

With an estimated 12 million votes hanging in the balance, initiatives to allow non-citizen legal permanent residents to vote in municipal and school board elections could make a significant difference in many U.S. communities.  This article explores the pros and cons of non-citizen voting and includes a list of countries where non-citizens can vote. READ MORE

ENDORSEMENTS: Noncitizen voting in school board elections

YES, YES, YES Proposition F would allow noncitizens who have kids in San Francisco schools to vote in school board elections. It's hardly a radical idea: cities in Massachusetts, New York, and other states have been doing it for years. But it could have a huge impact in this city, where close to one-third of all students enrolled in its schools are children of immigrant parents. Many of these children face serious educational barriers - including a lack of linguistically and culturally competent instruction and resources, as well as the kinds of extra hardships associated with being from a low-income family. High school dropout rates are highest among children of immigrant families. And study after study shows students do better when parents are actively involved in their schools.

Introduced by Gonzalez, Proposition F would alter the City Charter to allow immigrant parents to vote in school board elections in 2006 and 2008, after which the Board of Supervisors would have to review the pilot program and vote to extend the law into future years. The proposal has gained the support of 9 out of 11 supervisors and the unanimous support of the school board.

We acknowledge that the measure might face a legal challenge - but this is something worth fighting for. And the Department of Elections should figure out a way to make this pilot project work - without holding school board elections on a separate date from general elections.

Vote yes.

The San Francisco Chronicle
Friday, October 8, 2004
THE CHRONICLE RECOMMENDS: Who gets to vote?

SAN FRANCISCO'S Prop. F challenges the notion that citizenship should be a requirement to vote. It would allow immigrants who are not yet U.S. citizens -- regardless of legal status -- to vote in school-board elections in 2006 and 2008.

The main argument for Prop. F is that immigrants, many of whom send their children to public schools, should have a voice on education policy. Supporters note that about 30 percent of the city's 50,000 students come from immigrant families -- though there are no figures on how many of those parents are noncitizens.

Then again, the same argument could be made in just about any election. Noncitizens also pay taxes, ride Muni, run businesses and encounter the bureaucracy when they want to remodel their homes.

Why single out the school-board election?
READ MORE


San Francisco Examiner
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Non-citizen vote gets ally School board adds support to ballot measure. 
By Bonnie Eslinger

After hearing the comments of dozens of supporters, and with a few last-minute revisions to the original resolution, San Francisco's Board of Education voted unanimously to endorse a ballot measure that would give non-citizens a say in who gets on the school board.

The original resolution, introduced by Commissioner Eric Mar and Mark Sanchez, supported Proposition F, a charter amendment on the November ballot to allow non-citizen parents to vote in San Francisco school board elections.

On Monday, Board of Education President Dan Kelly said he did not support Prop. F. At Tuesday night's board meeting he told the packed audience that he believed it was a "Trojan Horse, a clever and good strategy" to unfairly extend citizenship benefits under the guise of supporting education.

Nonetheless, he voted in favor of the resolution after hearing support from the parents, immigrant advocates and fellow school board members. Commissioner Jill Wynns added a few amendments to the resolution that would oppose any effort to make school board elections on a separate date or ballot, and encourage non-citizen voting in all local elections. READ MORE


San Francisco Examiner
September 28, 2004
Non-Citizen Voting Fight Escalates
The debate over non-citizen voting turned tense Monday as the president of San Francisco's school board interrupted a press conference to accuse a fellow board member of misusing public resources for political gain.

School Board Commissioner Eric Mar called a press conference at San Francisco Unified School District offices on Franklin Street with Chinese-language media and community groups to discuss Proposition F, a charter amendment going before voters this November that would give voting rights in local school-board elections to non-citizen parents with school-age children.

Midway through the meeting, board president Dan Kelly entered and accused Mar of holding a political event on school-district property, in violation of elections law. READ MORE

The Wall Street Journal
September 14, 2004
Noncitizen Parents Seek Voting Rights in School Elections
By Miriam Jordan

SAN FRANCISCO -- On a recent evening, Latino and Chinese parents -- some of whom could not speak a common language -- gathered to organize a campaign for a common cause. They want the right to have a voice in their childrens' public schools, regardless of whether they are U.S. citizens.

More than half of the 60,000 students in San Francisco's public schools are either of Chinese or Hispanic descent. At least one out of three children in the city's school district has a parent who is an immigrant, either legal or illegal. Yet many of these parents say they feel alienated from their children's schooling because they aren't allowed to vote for the school board that determines education policy. 'We're treated as if we don't exist,' says Berta Hernandez, a legal resident who moved from Mexico 17 years ago and has two children in public schools here.

That could change soon. San Francisco's board of supervisors in July voted nine-to-two to put an amendment on the November ballot that would allow any parent with a child in public school to vote in school-board elections.

Backers of the measure say residents who pay taxes and contribute to the U.S. economy should be entitled to vote on a matter that affects their daily life. But critics say that would cheapen the value of U.S. citizenship. They add that parents can be engaged in other ways, such as attending P.T.A.
meetings and volunteering at their children's schools. READ MORE (Pay site)


Mens News Daily
Saddam Hussein - You are Eligible to Vote
September 12, 2004
by J. Thomas Lowry

If the former leader of Iraq were able, he could find his way across the border, obtain a drivers license, and perhaps cast a deciding vote on a city policy. In short, he is eligible to vote. Any thug, terrorist, or anarchist may have the same right that you do. The same is true of Fidel Castro though Fidel, no doubt a policy adviser to the Kerry campaign, might find Miami a little uncomfortable.

The point, and it is not humorous, is granting voting rights to noncitizens. The Democrats support this measure and, in fact, it is already being used in various cities and towns. Of course, the Democrats are willing to grant voting rights to the Taliban, if only they promise to vote for Kerry or the next laggard they put up for 2008.

Citizenship is a responsibility. For those who desire to become Americans, the steps are forever in their memory. Citizenship in the United States remains the ultimate goal of countless people around the globe. For all the work that an honest immigrant puts into becoming a true American it is cheapened by the Democrats push for the most important responsibility of attaining the status of citizen; the right to vote. READ MORE

[A NOTE FROM THE IMMIGRANT VOTING PROJECT: Despite the writer's assertions, Saddam Hussein and members of the Taliban would not, in fact, be eligible to vote under any of the immigrant voting proposals or existing programs in the United States.]  

NCM Online
September 9, 2004
For Immigrants Stuck in Backlog, Promise of Citizenship and Voting Go Unfulfilled 
New York Immigration Coalition 
Commentary 
By Norman Eng  

NEW YORK-- Jose Victor, an immigrant from Guatemala who works as a waiter in Long Island, didnt pay much attention to the Republican National Convention being held nearby in New York City last week. Not because he's uninterested in the country's state of affairs, but because as a lawful permanent resident, he cannot vote. 

Jose is denied the right to vote because his application to become a U.S. citizen, filed four years ago, has disappeared into a black hole of immigration processing. Jose passed his naturalization exam and interview in 2002, but hes still waiting to be sworn in. 

"I have not done anything wrong. I work, I pay my taxes, so I don't understand why I haven't gotten citizenship yet," said Jose. "I have met other people who applied for citizenship after I did, and they are already finished. In a way, I feel discriminated against."  READ MORE

Maine Public Radio
Friday, September 10, 2004 
Maine Things Considered  

The Forecaster 
Wednesday, September 8, 2004 (Portland, ME, political weekly newspaper)
article

New York Newsday
September 8, 2004 
THE NEW NEW YORKERS 
They're election outsiders 
About 1 in 5 city residents is ineligible to vote, but many immigrants have views on the candidates 

BY JONATHAN SCHIENBERG 
Jonathan Schienberg is a freelance writer. 

To the dismay of both Jonathan Palomino and his mother, Zoila, Nov. 2 will be just another ordinary day. Jonathan and Zoila Palomino both feel that he has a stake in this country, having served in the Marines during the recent war in Iraq. 

But despite putting his life on the line for his adopted country, Jonathan Palomino, 29, has no say in the country's future direction. Emigrants from Ecuador now living in Woodside, the Palominos are permanent U.S. residents but not yet citizens, so therefore they cannot vote. 

"There were so many immigrants who served this country and died in Iraq without the right to vote," said Zoila Palomino, 62, who added that if she could, she would vote for John Kerry. "My son was in Iraq fighting for 11 months," Zoila Palomino said. "Now he comes back and they say he has no right to vote?" 

According to data from the 2000 Census, New York City was home to 1,361,007 immigrants of voting age that did not have the right to vote. That means one out of approximately every five New Yorkers was ineligible to vote during the 2000 presidential election. READ MORE
[NOTE FROM THE IMMIGRANT VOTING PROJECT: Although this article discusses the lack of vote in Presidential elections, resident voting rights advocates seek only LOCAL ballot access. These rights would stil reserves federal (President, Senator, and Congress) voting rights for full citizens.]

EARLIER ARTICLES
For July-August 2004 Articles CLICK HERE

For June 2004 Articles CLICK HERE

For May 2004 Articles CLICK HERE

For April 2004 Articles CLICK HERE

For Articles 2003 and earlier CLICK HERE