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The Immigrant Voting Project |
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THE NEWTON,
MASSACHUSETTS December 2004. Letters to the editor appear in the Newton TAB from Alderman John Stewart (pro) and Tom Sheff (con). November
2004.
Alderman Ted Hess-Mahan sponsors an initiative to permit permanent
resident aliens living in Newton to vote in local elections, similar to
legislation passed in Cambridge and Amherst
but still awaiting state enabling laws. LEGISLATION FOR PERMANENT RESIDENT ALIENS RESIDING IN NEWTON #171-04 ALD. HESS-MAHAN requesting home rule legislation authorizing local voting rights for permanent resident aliens residing in Newton. On June 9, 2004, the Programs and Services Committee of the Newton Board of Aldermen asked the City Law Department to prepare language for proposed special legislation authorizing local voting rights for immigrants. On October 20, 2004, Programs and Services approved the following language for special legislation authorizing local voting rights for permanent resident aliens residing in Newton. A public hearing on this proposed special legislation is scheduled for November 17, 2004 at 7:45 p.m. at City Hall. Section 1 Notwithstanding the provisions of section one of chapter fifty-one of the general laws, or any other general or special law to the contrary, residents of the city of Newton who are aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States and who meet all qualifications for registering to vote except U.S. citizenship, may, upon application, have their names entered on a register of qualified permanent resident alien voters and may thereafter vote in any election for local offices and local ballot questions. Section 2 The Election Commission of the city of Newton is authorized to create a register of qualified permanent resident alien voters and to adopt rules and to carry out the purposes of this act. Section 3 Nothing in this act shall be construed to confer upon non-citizens the right to vote for any state or federal office or any state or federal ballot question. MORE READING Newton
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Why should immigrants be allowed to vote in local elections? Newton prides itself on being an intentionally diverse, welcoming and inclusive community. Immigrants living in our community pay taxes that support our local schools, programs, services and other community resources, work, own property, pay rent, and send their children to school in Newton, and care about the quality of life in this City, just like everyone else who lives here. The only difference is that they cannot participate in elections for local leaders and issues that have a profound effect on their daily lives and livelihoods—solely because they are not citizens of the United States. But if they are not U.S. citizens, why should immigrants get to vote? Because they live here, immigrants are citizens of this community. In addition, it can take many years for most immigrants to obtain their U.S. citizenship. It is a long, difficult, and often costly road for many immigrants to travel. Yet, they still must pay their taxes, abide by our laws, and may even risk their lives serving in our military without being allowed to vote for leaders and issues that have the most direct impact on their daily lives. Those who are lawfully admitted for permanent residence in this country have already demonstrated their intention to stay and their commitment to our community. At the very least, they deserve to have a voice in local affairs. I heard it only takes 5 years, so why don’t they just become citizens? The overwhelming majority of immigrants here in Newton and around the country do become U.S. citizens. But to say that it only takes 5 years is somewhat misleading. Once immigrants become permanent resident aliens, i.e., obtain “green cards”, they have to wait 5 years before they can even apply for citizenship. For many immigrants, it may take along time and, depending on their national origin, they may have to wait fifteen or twenty years or more before they qualify to become permanent resident aliens. And even after they apply for citizenship, many immigrants still must wait many months or even years before they become citizens. Moreover, since 9/11, the backlog for processing citizenship applications has grown substantially because of increased security and background checks as well as the sheer volume of immigrants who want to become U.S. citizens. Why should I care whether immigrants can vote? In Newton, there are more than 2,800 immigrants of voting age who are not yet citizens. Although they pay taxes, send their children to public school, abide by our laws and have a stake in our community, elections of local leaders and ballot questions do not adequately reflect their views, interests and concerns. Some immigrants are working people who are concerned about affordable housing, fair wages and employment practices, and the cost of living. Most immigrants care about the quality of public education and after school programs, opportunities for youths, fair housing practices, and racial, ethnic and religious discrimination. Without the right to vote, though, their views on important local matters are not adequately represented. Do other places allow non-citizens to vote? Yes. For many years, Chicago has allowed immigrants to vote in certain local elections, as have six cities and towns in Maryland. Until it eliminated local school boards last year, New York City for many years allowed non-citizens to vote in local school board elections. Moreover, Ireland and most of the other European Union countries allow resident non-citizens to vote in local elections. Australia, which also allows resident non-citizens to vote, actually imposes fines on registered voters who fail to participate in elections. How can local voting rights for immigrants in Newton become law? The U.S. Constitution leaves it to state and local governments to decide whether non-citizens are allowed to vote. Although Massachusetts law limits voting rights to U.S. citizens, Newton can seek authority from the legislature to allow non-citizens to register to vote in local elections by filing “special legislation” under the Home Rule provisions of the state constitution. To date, Amherst and Cambridge have also filed special legislation seeking local voting rights for immigrants. Who is likely to vote if this special legislation becomes law? Most of our immigrant neighbors and community members are in the process of applying for or are otherwise lawfully admitted for permanent residence in this country. If it becomes law, permanent resident aliens living in Newton would be able to register and vote in elections for local elected officials and ballot issues. These people live, work, pay rent, own property or businesses, pay taxes, send their children to public school in Newton, are governed by the same laws that apply to the rest of us and even serve in our military to defend our country. What about “illegal aliens”? The proposed special legislation only allows immigrants who are lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the U.S. to register to vote in local elections. The voting lists are, by law, public information. Anyone living illegally in this country is unlikely to risk deportation by registering to vote. In addition, voter registration is tied to the City Census so that registered voters who fail to complete and return their census forms may be dropped from the active voter list. At the same time, permitting permanent resident aliens to register could actually encourage more immigrants to be counted in the annual City Census, which could in turn bring added funding to our community. But who benefits if we allow local voting rights for immigrants in Newton? We all do. Right now, several thousand of our friends, neighbors and contributing members of our community who are legal residents of Newton are denied any voice in local government. They pay taxes to support local programs, services and community resources but have no say in how their tax money is spent by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. Many of them send their children to public school but cannot weigh in on important policy and budget decisions by the School Committee. Implementing local voting rights for immigrants is right, it’s fair, and it will be good for the City of Newton when all of our community members have a real voice in local affairs.
Last updated January 10, 2005
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