California is now allowing this.Who is for this, and who is against this among the board?
That editorial is from 3 years ago. Is there evidence that this modification caused non-citizens to actually vote?
Automatically registering eligible voters now allows ineligible voters?
Cited and logic required.
Snopes says not true.
Hmmm. A thread started as if it was based on current events, using as its basis a link to a story that is three years old. Not good form.
However, as the topic is worthy of consideration, I will let the thread proceed.
It would be good for any excitable participant, on either side, to peruse the following:
My bad, a 2018 link
https://www.redding.com/story/opinion/columnists/2018/03/05/non-citizens-start-voting-california/3
A July 18, 2018 story that says San Fran now allows non-citizens to vote in school board elections.
And local elections, such as those for school boards, may be regarded rather differently than state and national elections where in the case of federal offices they have been outlawed since 1996.
This link is not working…although the fact that it contains the words “opinion” and “columnists” gives us a clue that it isn’t an actual news article.
Which has absolutely nothing to do with the bill the California Governor signed 3 years ago.
Again I ask you: Is there evidence that this modification caused non-citizens to actually vote?
Since the mods are have kept this open, I’ll take the bait and state a position:
There is nothing inherently wrong in extending the power to vote based on residency and not on citizenship. In fact, there’s a lot to be said for allowing the people who live in a place to have a voice in the people and policies that govern them, regardless of their status as citizens.
I did hear something about some place allowing non-citizens to maybe vote in local school board elections recently.
Let’s assume it’s the case that some city in the US will allow legal non-citizen residents to vote in local school board elections. The question is, are you for or against this practice?
I’m for this. Local non-citizen residents, at least in my neighborhood, pay lots of real estate taxes, and that is used to pay for the school system. Further, they have children in the school, so they have a real interest in how the schools are managed, what is funded, etc. Finally, there is little chance of our government being adversely affected by this practice, since any effects of this vote will necessarily be extremely local (as opposed to federal or state elections, for example).
RS
Let us not forget that in the very few school districts that allow this, you must have a child currently in that public school system to get to vote.
Yes, I agree with this. I am in this situation (long-term resident, not yet a citizen). I think qualification for voting on on local administrative matters should be based on resident/taxpayer status - obviously with a stipulation that I’m here legally, and perhaps for some minimum time.
Of course, I don’t think I should be allowed to vote on broader political issues at the state and federal level unless I take up citizenship.
Several EU countries allow non-citizen EU-nationals to vote at the lower levels. Others allow EU-nationals to run, again at the lower levels. Navarre had originally proposed doing this within Spain itself: one vote at the national level (corresponding to your permanent address) but if you’re a long-term resident someplace else (for example college students) it’s understood that you have an interest in the local politics of two places.
I’m perfectly fine with it so long as it’s done in a way that doesn’t lead to someone having two votes in the same election.
I think I had a chance to vote in the London mayoral elections in 2000. I wasn’t sure, and I did not try to register or vote, but it did make an impression on me. For local offices, I can see that allowing non-citizens but lawful residents to vote on such matters would not result in the end of the world or the elimination of peace and freedom in liberal democracies.
What’s your citizenship? If you were a Commonwealth citizen, then yes. Otherwise you need indefinite leave to remain or have some other right to remain in the UK…
Yes - to the contrary, it would reduce tyranny. And local petty tyrants are the worst.
American. I was there on a temporary resident visa.
Again, I did not try to register, I didn’t do any exploration of whether I could, but being told that non-citizens could vote in that election (even though I may not have been eligible) made me think differently about the knee-jerk reaction that only citizens may ever vote or the whole world turns to shit.
My bold - is that just for non-citizens? Because the school system affects a lot more than just the families with children in it. I can see limiting non-citizen school board votes to just enrolled families, however.