CURRENT IMMIGRANT VOTING RIGHTS
PRACTICES AND MOVEMENTS

 

Efforts to reinstate voting rights for noncitizen residents --which were widespread in 40 states and federal territories until the demise of the practice in the 1920s-- are in high gear. Legislation has been re-introduced in Massachusetts, where several local communities are seeking home rule authorization from the state legislature and Minnesota, a state with a long history of nonresident voting rights which seeks to amend the state constitution to restore those rights (along with voting rights for ex-offenders). New York City introduced legislation April 20, 2005 and City Council committee hearings were held November 14; though the bill died in committee, it was re-introduced in 2006 with some modifications to address technical concerns.

Vermont recently launched a noncitizen voting initiative by holding a demonstration election in March 2006 to educate immigrants about the election process and to raise public awareness.
 

Other contemporary efforts include California (where San Francisco's November 2004 ballot included Proposition F to allow all residents to vote in school board elections), Connecticut, Illinois (which has allowed noncitizen voting in school board elections since 1998), Maine, Maryland (where six communities allow noncitizen voting and additional campaigns are underway), North Carolina, Texas, Washington DC (where a bill was introduced to City Council in July 2003 to allow legal permanent residents to vote), and Wisconsin.