"Voting rights sought for non-citizens".... WTF?

This ain't right; no how, no way.


NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Immigration activists packed a New York City Council hearing to demand non-citizens be allowed to vote in municipal elections.

8<------ Snip

The activists said an estimated 1 million New Yorkers, about 20 percent of the adult population, don't have voting rights, although they pay $18.2 billion a year in state income taxes.

They mean legal residents, just not yet citizens. The argument was that since they pay taxes, they should also be able to have a voice in local legislative policy.

When I heard it this morning, it was being presented as something the repubs opposed but Dems to some degree supported. (Or at least it came off that way)

Me? Anyone who is here legally and pays taxes should probably be able to vote. I'm far more concerned with legitimate votes being 'switched'.

and if their children are citizens, they should have some say in what kind of society they will live in.

That was painful...

you want to vote, become one, I did.

if they want a say in government then take that extra step.

How much a person pays in taxes is not and should not be used as a yardstick in determining who gets to vote and who should not.

I went throught the process.. yuo want to vote go through the procedure... PERIOD

do you believe they should be sent back?

If they had the vote??????

crazy idea

:-(

But if we are talking legal residents - at least the INS idea would be not be an objective.

But still crazy.

Getting citizenship should be on their to-do list, instead.

Let everyone vote...as long as they don't count who cares? All the voting machine companies can line their pockets running 'fair elections', and nobody will be the wiser.

:)

Just because they are not citizens and cannot vote, there is no reason they cannot get involved and make their voices heard in many, many other ways.

They can choose the candidate(s) they would vote for if they could and volunteer, either to get them elected or to promote their messasges after they take office.

Damn few people go to City Concil or Village Board meetings and even fewer go to meetings of park district, library or school boards. Same with county government. People who go to these meetings regularly are generally listened to. And while they can't run for office, there are all sorts of other committees and events they can volunteer for.

They are certainly welcome to call their representatives and write letters to the editor.

I cherish my right to vote and have voted in (about) every election I've been eligible for since I was 18 (I think, that's a lot of elections). But voting is the LEAST you can do.

HAVE lived here almost all their lives. Some I work with have "legal alien" status. They came with their parents 15 to 20 years ago. They cannot apply for citizenship until they turn 18 and the parents often cannot do the $500 per child (for several children) PLUS travel several times to the nearest testing site (anywhere from 1.5 to 6 hours). Many of these new adults lost their parents or grandparents fighting for the USA in Viet Nam.

This is supposed to be an immigrant hate festival.

Some DUers see that the politics of division and hate have worked well for the Republicans and are hoping to emulate it.

It's amazing that some of the "progressives" here believe that voting should be an elite privillege and not a basic right.

Now, whether the citizenship process should be made easier would also be an interesting topic, but if you're invested enough in the country to want to vote, you're invested enough to be a citizen.

Education, where ever you are, is a basic human right. Driving, if you can pass the road test and maintain insurance, you can drive. But voting is not merely benefiting from a public good, it is shaping government. If you want a hand in shaping government, you should become a citizen, you should say "I am part of this, I accept the rights associated with this, as well as the responsibilities."

Now, I do think we should make the naturalization process easier, and repeal the natural-born clause from the qualifications for president. Those would be a major step in the right direction.

making an "immigrant hate festival."

Tell me again how that works?

non-citizens can vote in local elections, which I think is right given they pay taxes in their locality.

... but not have a say in zoning and land-use policies? Their children are required to attend schools but they can't vote for the school board? I think they should be entitled to exercise their right to vote in municipal/county elections where they're permanent residents. Not state and not national. I think the European approach is valid.

At the same time, I'm still in favor of enforcing our immigration laws and heavy penalties for employers if illegal immigrants. Very heavy.

well flippin' VOTE about all things American, too.

I wouldn't worry too much. It's not as if they're actually counted accurately anyway.

I think that being a citizen should actually mean SOMETHING.

IMMIGRANT HATER!!!!11one

We should make becoming a citizen much easier -- swearing an oath in front of a federal magistrate, Counselor, or O-6 or greater officer after five years of legal residence should be enough. INS registration more than $100 / person. In addition, anyone who serves in the military should automatically be a citizen at their option.

That being said, legal immigrants may pay taxes but are not subject to lifelong taxation (if they leave the country, they aren't taxed) nor the draft. They are not part of the unorganized reserve, and can visit countries like Cuba which is illegal for American citizens.

If you want the right to vote, and the right to not be deported, take on the obligations of citizenship.

in time of war... that one was settled during Nam... but if you don't want to serve if called, you can go home.

As a former legal resident and now citizen you learn these things.

time and you are clear of any crime..you can never vote again...

but now some want illegals to vote??

first re-instate Americans ..who maybe smoked pot and got caught..as young people...lets fight for their vote first!!

fly

These are legal immigrants who want to vote. Jesus Christ, I didn't realize "immigrant" was code for "illegal"

my bad , my bad...fly

I'm stunned....

Maybe it's a slow night?

Most Americans are unaware that non-citizen voting was widespread in the United States for the first 150 years of its history. From 1776 until 1926, 22 states and federal territories allowed non-citizens to vote in local, state, and even federal elections but gradually repealed this right. The US Constitution gives states and municipalities the right to decide who is eligible to vote.

Non-citizen voting rights, however, were largely repealed due to the anti-immigrant sentiment of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the Civil War era, Southern states resented immigrants' opposition to slavery. In many states, wartime hysteria and the Red Scare after World War I made Americans want immigrants to "prove" their loyalty before receiving the privilege of voting. And in others - like Texas during the women's suffrage struggle - ending the immigrant vote was a way for political status quo supporters to counteract the broadened electorate that came with the 14th Amendment (voting rights for African-American men) and 19th Amendment (voting rights for women).

www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/print.cfm?ID=265

There's also a list of countries that allow non-citizens to vote. Mostly in local elections.

Why the hell not let someone use the Right that so many Red Blooded Native Born Americans don't bother to exercise?