Current Events > San Francisco Lets Non-Citizens Vote in Local Elections

(+) Yeah! (+)

http://abc7news.com/politics/sf-department-of-elections-issues-voter-registration-forms-for-non-citizens/3773817/

Monday the Department of Elections Issued Voter Registration Forms for non-citizens who are eligible to vote for members of the San Francisco Board of Education in the November 6th 2018 election. The measure passed in 2016 with a close vote of 54 percent to 46 percent following two failed previous attempts.

San Francisco is the first city in the state to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections.

"As a parent myself and a former member of the SF Board of Education it is critical that the voices of all parents are at the table particularly those that have historically been denied a voice in the process," said Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer who represents District 1.

"We want to give immigrants the right to vote," said Supervisor Norman Yee who represents District 7.

This November will be the first election in which non-citizens can register to vote.

"Third time was a charm," said San Francisco School Board member Matt Haney.

School Board member Matt Haney was the co-author of the resolution endorsing the measure. He says the school board was in full support of it.

"I think it's critical that all of our families have a voice in the governance of our schools," said Haney.

Not everyone agrees. Harmeet Dhillon is the Republican National Committeewoman from California. She says she voted against the measure in 2016.

"The reason I voted against it is that I think the right to vote is something that goes along with citizenship and should be," said Dhillon.

Dhillon says the school board is already obligated to look out for the interests of all children in the system.

"I don't think that people who have otherwise tenuous ties to San Francisco given their lack of legal residence should be making long term decisions about that structure and process," said Dhillon.

Prospective voters can request a non-citizen voter registration form in-person at the Department of Elections, online or by phone. The deadline to register is October 22nd. Those who miss the deadline can visit the City Hall Voting Center to register and vote under conditional voter registration.

To be able to register to vote in the Board of Education election, non-citizens must be residents of San Francisco, at least 18 years old on election day and parents, legal guardians or caregivers of children under the age of 19 who also reside in San Francisco.

Non-citizen voting will be available at every Board of Education election until November 2022. It will expire then unless the Board of Supervisors adopts an ordinance allowing it to continue.

They have "non-citizen voter registration forms".
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How many Russian nationals live in San Fransisco?
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tennisdude818 posted...

Non-citizen voting will be available at every Board of Education election until November 2022. It will expire then unless the Board of Supervisors adopts an ordinance allowing it to continue.

This sounds reasonable. Try it for a few years before they really commit
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"We come here because it's better than where we came from."

"Let's have a say in how they do things here, because I'm here because it's better than where I came from."

Imagine not letting yourself criticize people from shitty parts of the world bringing your quality of life down (they do).
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Uncle Choad posted...

"We come here because it's better than where we came from."

"Let's have a say in how they do things here, because I'm here because it's better than where I came from."

Imagine not letting yourself criticize people from s***ty parts of the world bringing your quality of life down (they do).

usa gdp per capita has shot up even despite hispanic immigration skyrocketing

Uncle Choad posted...

"We come here because it's better than where we came from."

"Let's have a say in how they do things here, because I'm here because it's better than where I came from."

Imagine not letting yourself criticize people from shitty parts of the world bringing your quality of life down (they do).

"Who do those English think they are, taxing us when they don't even live here"
"Are you serious we're getting stamp taxed while we have no say in what goes on?"

Imagine not letting yourself criticize people from other parts of the world bringing your quality of life down (they do).
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This is why Trump won
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YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

Uncle Choad posted...

"We come here because it's better than where we came from."

"Let's have a say in how they do things here, because I'm here because it's better than where I came from."

Imagine not letting yourself criticize people from shitty parts of the world bringing your quality of life down (they do).

"Who do those English think they are, taxing us when they don't even live here"
"Are you serious we're getting stamp taxed while we have no say in what goes on?"

Imagine not letting yourself criticize people from other parts of the world bringing your quality of life down (they do).

LOL imagine equating monarchic rule to immigrants voting for free things (they'll definitely all vote for free things)
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Fuck man, I'm all for immigrants having rights but they definitely shouldn't be voting and this seems like a slippery slope for the information to be used against them.
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I4NRulez posted...

Fuck man, I'm all for immigrants having rights but they definitely shouldn't be voting and this seems like a slippery slope for the information to be used against them.

MFW China buys buildings and ships thousands of people in.
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So they can only vote in Board of Education elections? Seems fair.

JE19426 posted...

So they can only vote in Board of Education elections? Seems fair.

You really think it's going to stop there?
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darkjedilink posted...

JE19426 posted...

So they can only vote in Board of Education elections? Seems fair.

You really think it's going to stop there?

Make sure you don't criticize it IRL, though. Probably end up being a racist.
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darkjedilink posted...

You really think it's going to stop there?

Ah, the good old slippery slope fallacy. It's been a while since I've seen that.

darkjedilink posted...

You really think it's going to stop there?

korea didn't cause a domino effect
vietnam didn't cause a domino effect

letting hmong and cambodians take refuge in the US didn't ruin us or open the floodgates to more refugee populations
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Don't have a problem with immigrants, I do have a problem with allowing non citizens to vote.
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Yeah, this is definitely slippery slope territory. Being the poster-state for ultra-progressive it will leech out into local public elections until, ultimately, California allows non-citizens to vote in state elections. Then all it takes is the right collection of idiots in Congress to allow them to vote in national elections.
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JE19426 posted...

Ah, the good old slippery slope fallacy. It's been a while since I've seen that.

MFW immigrants are soon going to be able to vote, but the 'slippery slope' is still a fallacy.
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PoopPotato posted...

Don't have a problem with immigrants, I do have a problem with allowing non citizens to vote.

I'm pretty sure it creates opportunity for foreign investors to legitimately 'meddle' in elections.
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Of course, because San Francisco is stupid.

Uncle Choad posted...

I'm pretty sure it creates opportunity for foreign investors to legitimately 'meddle' in elections.

You don't care when Russia does it. Why care now?
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What's even the point of citizenship?

I don't really see this being a problem. It's only for the board of education, and it only applies to non-citizens who have children attending public school. It also ends in 2022, so it's a trial run. Let them see how it goes. It's an experiment. Just because one city is allowing this for one part of government doesn't mean tomorrow they're gonna control all of government.

You cats against this do realize that progress comes in the form of moving forward right? Not by staying stagnant, and sometimes going back?
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KhanJohnny posted...

What's even the point of citizenship?

The right to vote in national elections and all other local ones.

JE19426 posted...

KhanJohnny posted...

What's even the point of citizenship?

The right to vote in national elections and all other local ones.

Not if this becomes a trend. Citizenship in the modern world is already an extremely diluted privilege. Now it's on its way to meaninglessness.

makes sense
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Eat More Beef posted...

I don't really see this being a problem. It's only for the board of education, and it only applies to non-citizens who have children attending public school. It also ends in 2022, so it's a trial run. Let them see how it goes. It's an experiment. Just because one city is allowing this for one part of government doesn't mean tomorrow they're gonna control all of government.

You cats against this do realize that progress comes in the form of moving forward right? Not by staying stagnant, and sometimes going back?

They'd rather shitpost about how this means illegals will control the government in a couple years time thanks to the big bad liberals.
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Tfw a bunch of the usual suspects are itt
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KhanJohnny posted...

Not if this becomes a trend.

I didn't realise that when you asked, that you were asking about it in some hypothetical future you haven't actually defined.

Seems like a bad idea.
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This is terrible
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darkjedilink posted...

JE19426 posted...

So they can only vote in Board of Education elections? Seems fair.

You really think it's going to stop there?

Do you have any proof it won't?
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This is perfectly fine
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I dont think disincentivizing people to go through legal channels towards citizenship is a good thing. I understand the ideology, but citizenship has to mean something more than we live here. Politicians, school board or otherwise, should be focused on representing taxed constituents.
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shockthemonkey posted...

Esrac posted...

Seems like a bad idea.

Why though? Theyre letting parents vote for who will be on the Board of Education. That affects all the children attending school regardless of whether their parents are documented or undocumented.

I mean, can't you apply that logic to every level of government?

I agree in a limited sense here, because the public school thing with respect to undocumented immigrants is a particular concern.

Most forms of federal public service are easy to deny to undocumented immigrants (Medicaid, Medicare, SS, SNAP, all generally things illegal immigrants aren't allowed to get with limited exceptions) but state and local level services like public schools are a thing California has tried to deny in the past, but courts determined they were not allowed to do so.

Interestingly, the law that limits the ability of undocumented immigrants to access most forms of public assistance is also the reason states can't add additional restrictions on public benefits -- the courts ruled that California could restrict access in line with the welfare reform act of 1996, but no more

https://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=1391_0_2_0

In Los Angeles on November 14, 1997, US District Court Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer in Los Angeles ruled that Proposition 187 violates both the US Constitution and the 1996 welfare law, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Under the ruling, the PRWORA requires states to follow the federal guidelines established in PRWORA when they seek to regulate the access of unauthorized foreigners to welfare benefits.

The ruling declared that "California is powerless to enact its own legislative scheme to regulate immigration. It is likewise powerless to enact its own legislative scheme to regulate alien access to public benefits. It can do what [PRWORA] permits, and nothing more." Pfaelzer is expected to convert the temporary injunction preventing enforcement of Proposition 187 into a permanent injunction by the end of 1997.
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San Fran proving once again to be a national disgrace
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I'm kinda amused at people acting like they have more of a right to vote in education board elections than people who actually have children in the schools just because some document says they were born here and are thus a citizen.
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shockthemonkey posted...

Esrac posted...

Seems like a bad idea.

Why though? Theyre letting parents vote for who will be on the Board of Education. That affects all the children attending school regardless of whether their parents are documented or undocumented.

Are undocumented citizens all illegal or is that a catchphrase for people who, for example, refuse to show ID, for whatever reason?
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Undocumented people are not citizens. But not every non-citizen is undocumented
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Seems weird that Uncle Choad is only saying immigrants and not non-citizens.

And they wonder why Trump won
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Antifar posted...

Undocumented people are not citizens. But not every non-citizen is undocumented

What's the point in dissembling? About half of non-citizen immigrants in California are undocumented, and a much higher share of immigrant households have at least one undocumented member (I think something like 2/3, again for California specifically). It's clearly going to be the flash point.
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Balrog0 posted...

Most forms of federal public service are easy to deny to undocumented immigrants (Medicaid, Medicare, SS, SNAP, all generally things illegal immigrants aren't allowed to get with limited exceptions) but state and local level services like public schools are a thing California has tried to deny in the past, but courts determined they were not allowed to do so.

There's a difference between general welfare and individual welfare.
Would you deny a non-citizen the right to use a public park, or sidewalk?

School board elections....who cares. This is legal.
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shockthemonkey posted...

If theyre residents then theyre residents regardless of if theyre citizens. Shouldnt be able to vote in any federal elections but I can see why they can get a vote in local elections.

This. You'd think "states rights" would make people happy but here we are having people clambering for federal to come in and stop this. I'm personally indifferent at the moment.
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YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

darkjedilink posted...

You really think it's going to stop there?

korea didn't cause a domino effect
vietnam didn't cause a domino effect

letting hmong and cambodians take refuge in the US didn't ruin us or open the floodgates to more refugee populations

But the ones who weren't citizens couldn't vote, so I don't really know what you're trying to get at.
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