Is granting legal residents the right to vote in New York City municipal elections an idea whose time has come?
It depends on who you ask, of course.
Talk to the people of the NY Coalition to Expand Voting Rights and not only will they tell you that yes, it is, but will also give you some pretty strong reasons why.
Mayor Bloomberg disagrees and has said: “[Voting is]a privilege of citizenship and I’ve always thought that if you want to vote you should become a citizen.”
Last Monday the coalition held a press conference on the steps of City Hall. Its purpose was “to protest the fact that one out of every five New Yorkers has no voice in the decision-making process that affects their daily lives.”
This means, they said, that 1.3 million New York taxpayers are denied the right to vote in city elections.
The NYC Voting Rights Restoration Act of 2010 was introduced into the City Council on Nov. 2010. The main sponsor, Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) chairman of the Committee on Immigration, is optimistic.
“It could happen. We have 21 co-sponsors already, more than double the number for last year. Twenty-six votes are needed for the bill to pass,” Dromm said.
It’s up to Speaker Christine Quinn to decide when and if the bill will be voted on. She hast not taken a position on this issue yet.
Paradoxically Mayor Bloomberg, who prides himself on being pro-immigration, is on record opposing granting noncitizen residents the right to vote and has said that if the bill passes he will veto it.
“Yet these are legal, low-abiding city residents who pay taxes and are not represented,” Dromm said. “Nothing in the U.S. or state constitution precludes the notion of letting residents vote. It should be approved.”
One of the strongest arguments in favor of granting all documented New Yorkers the right to vote has its roots in the founding of the United States. If people pay taxes, they should vote. The American Revolution was all about taxation without representation.
With noncitizen residents contributing an estimated $18.2 billion in New York State income taxes, is hard to justify not allowing them to vote. Instead of asking why give noncitizens the right to vote in city elections, the question then becomes why not.
After all, legal immigrants serve in the military, pay taxes and are a vital part of the life of the city. And they are as mindful of the laws of the land as citizens.
Contrary to popular belief, the concept is not new. Noncitizens with children in the city schools were allowed to vote in community school board elections until they were abolished in 2002. And until 1928, they could vote in national, state and municipal elections in some states.
“But as new and different kinds of immigrants came to America, a nativist backlash led to the elimination of this democratic practice,” said Ron Hayduk, a Queens College professor and author of “Democracy for All: Restoring Immigrant Voting Rights in the United States.”
Most noncitizen immigrants — keep in mind this law would apply only to the documented — are New Yorkers with as solid a commitment to the city’s future as that of citizens. It is only fair they are allowed to participate in the decisions that affect themselves, their families and their communities.
“Documented residents who pay billions in taxes and who can die in unjust wars abroad should have a right to vote,” said coalition coordinator David Andersson. “There should be no taxation without representation.”
It depends on who you ask, of course.
Talk to the people of the NY Coalition to Expand Voting Rights and not only will they tell you that yes, it is, but will also give you some pretty strong reasons why.
Mayor Bloomberg disagrees and has said: “[Voting is]a privilege of citizenship and I’ve always thought that if you want to vote you should become a citizen.”
Last Monday the coalition held a press conference on the steps of City Hall. Its purpose was “to protest the fact that one out of every five New Yorkers has no voice in the decision-making process that affects their daily lives.”
This means, they said, that 1.3 million New York taxpayers are denied the right to vote in city elections.
The NYC Voting Rights Restoration Act of 2010 was introduced into the City Council on Nov. 2010. The main sponsor, Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) chairman of the Committee on Immigration, is optimistic.
“It could happen. We have 21 co-sponsors already, more than double the number for last year. Twenty-six votes are needed for the bill to pass,” Dromm said.
It’s up to Speaker Christine Quinn to decide when and if the bill will be voted on. She hast not taken a position on this issue yet.
Paradoxically Mayor Bloomberg, who prides himself on being pro-immigration, is on record opposing granting noncitizen residents the right to vote and has said that if the bill passes he will veto it.
“Yet these are legal, low-abiding city residents who pay taxes and are not represented,” Dromm said. “Nothing in the U.S. or state constitution precludes the notion of letting residents vote. It should be approved.”
One of the strongest arguments in favor of granting all documented New Yorkers the right to vote has its roots in the founding of the United States. If people pay taxes, they should vote. The American Revolution was all about taxation without representation.
With noncitizen residents contributing an estimated $18.2 billion in New York State income taxes, is hard to justify not allowing them to vote. Instead of asking why give noncitizens the right to vote in city elections, the question then becomes why not.
After all, legal immigrants serve in the military, pay taxes and are a vital part of the life of the city. And they are as mindful of the laws of the land as citizens.
Contrary to popular belief, the concept is not new. Noncitizens with children in the city schools were allowed to vote in community school board elections until they were abolished in 2002. And until 1928, they could vote in national, state and municipal elections in some states.
“But as new and different kinds of immigrants came to America, a nativist backlash led to the elimination of this democratic practice,” said Ron Hayduk, a Queens College professor and author of “Democracy for All: Restoring Immigrant Voting Rights in the United States.”
Most noncitizen immigrants — keep in mind this law would apply only to the documented — are New Yorkers with as solid a commitment to the city’s future as that of citizens. It is only fair they are allowed to participate in the decisions that affect themselves, their families and their communities.
“Documented residents who pay billions in taxes and who can die in unjust wars abroad should have a right to vote,” said coalition coordinator David Andersson. “There should be no taxation without representation.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment