stephanie
06-18-2007, 10:54 PM
SNIP:
Most limit such voting to local elections and legal immigrants. But state legislatures often intercede.
By Carol Huang | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
Page 1 of 2
Boston - No taxation without representation?
Residents in Boston, New York, and other cities are reviving America's famous battle cry for political revolution. In the midst of a stormy national debate on immigration, they're challenging the idea of excluding noncitizens on a front that's less noticed but equally contentious.
They want immigrants to vote.
While that idea may seem outrageous to many, it's less radical than it sounds to its supporters. They want to limit such voting to local races and referendums and, in most areas, to legal immigrants.
Supporters argue that noncitizens are long-term residents who care about the same local issues that citizens do: good schools, safe streets, reliable trash collection. Many pay taxes. Some are US military veterans.
"They're living there, they have their kids in school, they're working, they're contributing to the local economy," says Kathleen Coll, a cultural anthropologist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. "They're full, complete local citizens [who are] affected by local policies."
Six Maryland communities already allow the practice, Chicago lets legal immigrants vote for school board members.
State lawmakers nix local efforts
Similar efforts have been tried elsewhere, but they failed or stalled because state legislatures didn't approve. Now, the movement is gaining traction again, mainly in liberal-leaning communities. For example:
the rest at..http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0618/p03s03-ussc.html
Most limit such voting to local elections and legal immigrants. But state legislatures often intercede.
By Carol Huang | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
Page 1 of 2
Boston - No taxation without representation?
Residents in Boston, New York, and other cities are reviving America's famous battle cry for political revolution. In the midst of a stormy national debate on immigration, they're challenging the idea of excluding noncitizens on a front that's less noticed but equally contentious.
They want immigrants to vote.
While that idea may seem outrageous to many, it's less radical than it sounds to its supporters. They want to limit such voting to local races and referendums and, in most areas, to legal immigrants.
Supporters argue that noncitizens are long-term residents who care about the same local issues that citizens do: good schools, safe streets, reliable trash collection. Many pay taxes. Some are US military veterans.
"They're living there, they have their kids in school, they're working, they're contributing to the local economy," says Kathleen Coll, a cultural anthropologist at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. "They're full, complete local citizens [who are] affected by local policies."
Six Maryland communities already allow the practice, Chicago lets legal immigrants vote for school board members.
State lawmakers nix local efforts
Similar efforts have been tried elsewhere, but they failed or stalled because state legislatures didn't approve. Now, the movement is gaining traction again, mainly in liberal-leaning communities. For example:
the rest at..http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0618/p03s03-ussc.html