Call these three fools please!
Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap (207)-626-8400 sos.office@maine.gov
Sen. Justin Alfond, D-Portland (207) 828-0277 Justin@JustinAlfond.com
Rep. Brian Bolduc, D-Auburn (800) 423-2900 bolduc74@yahoo.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill would let non-citizens of U.S. vote in local elections !

Proponents say it would give (illegal) immigrants a community voice.
Critics say they may not be informed enough to vote.
March 27, 2009


AUGUSTA — Lawmakers are preparing to consider a bill that would let communities choose to allow non-U.S. citizens to vote in municipal elections.

Proponents argue that letting non-citizen (illegal) immigrants vote on local issues would include them in the community and provide incentive for them to pursue citizenship.

Critics say voting is a right that should be reserved for U.S. citizens, and some suggest that newcomers to the country don't necessarily have the language skills or the knowledge of issues needed to make an informed vote.

The bill, LD 1195, is being sponsored by Sen. Justin Alfond, D-Portland, and co-sponsored by Rep. Brian Bolduc, D-Auburn. (Both from Somalia ) It was referred this week to the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee.

Alfond said he spoke to a number of households in his one-time role as state director of the League of Young Voters. He would talk to residents about issues in upcoming local elections, Alfond said, and then learn that they couldn't vote because they weren't U.S. citizens.

"I want to look at this," said Alfond. "Is there a way to give people in our communities a bigger way to be involved?"

There's a variety of legal Maine residents who are not U.S. citizens, said Alfond, including doctors, refugees, students, hockey players and more.(illegal"s!!!!)

Some might live here legally for decades without becoming citizens, meaning they can't vote on local issues that affect them, he said. And a citizen might move to the state for a year, take part in an election and then move away.

Alfond said that didn't seem right.

Allowing that part of the community to vote would be inclusive, said Alfond, and would give more (illegal's) people a voice. It also would give them an incentive to become citizens, so they could vote in state and national elections as well, he said.

Specifics on the bill would need to be developed in the committee, but Alfond said he envisions it applying to immigrants who are here legally(???????????????). And it would be community governing bodies – town or city councils – that could decide whether to allow the non-citizens (illegal's???) to vote in local elections.

Ron Hayduk, professor of political science at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and author of the book "Democracy for All," said immigrants (illegal's) who are not citizens are allowed to vote in a number of communities.

Chicago, for instance, allows them to vote in school elections, and six towns in Maryland allow them to vote in all local elections. They can vote in the Massachusetts towns of Cambridge, Amherst and Newton, Hayduk said, and proposals have been made to do the same in Chelsea and Somerville. And the issue probably will resurface in Boston after a 2007 defeat.

The basic argument for allowing non-citizens to vote is that groups excluded from voting are more likely to be discriminated against, Hayduk said.???????

"It thwarts the power, the potential and promise of democracy," he said. "We're all served by having a government that's more representative, more accountable and more responsive to all its members."

Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap (The ass that wanted illegals to have drivers licenses! He seems to spend all his time on people NOT from America???) said the mechanics of allowing non-citizens to vote would be pretty simple. Non-citizens couldn't be included in the electronic, federally funded voter rolls, so a separate paper list of voters would have to be kept, he said. (Sure they will)

Dunlap said he doesn't think Alfond's proposal does any harm. (Because he's an illegal-Loving idiot!)
"Whenever you get more people to participate, you add legitimacy to that process," Dunlap said. "The voice of the public, I think, is extraordinarily important."

Hans Von Spakovsky, a legal scholar at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said he sees several problems with the non-citizen proposal.

If local, state and federal elections are generally printed on the same ballot, they would have to be separated to allow non-citizens to vote. And getting a voter registration card could be a way to thwart federal labor laws, he said. (What about when the idiots start in printing ballots in other languages???) "At the core of it, I think it's a bad idea, because people who are here as residents are not people who have assimilated and become part of the American culture and the American society," said Von Spakovsky, whose parents were immigrants. "They have made a decision not to become U.S. citizens. That means they have not entered the U.S. social compact."

Reaction was mixed in Portland's immigrant community. (We have 7500 illegal's too!)
"I'm very supportive, very thrilled that somebody is working on it," said Eric Nkusi, executive director of the Intore Club, a Portland-based immigrant and refugee advocacy association. "This is the best thing that could happen to the community." (IDIOTS!)

Nkusi said his group has actually researched this topic, and has found that when immigrants aren't engaged in their community, it creates isolation.

"Knowing how Mainers are very democratic and very good with their neighbors – with us immigrants – I have no doubt that people in the counties and the cities would support that, "(SCREW YOU!!!!) Nkusi said. "Why would they not support it? (It's a right only reserved for AMERICANS!!!)
"We pay the same taxes, (Most of you don't freaking work!!!) our children go to the same schools, we share the burden and the good of the city," he said. "If we don't vote, that means our voices don't count. That goes against (the) American spirit."

Mohamud Barre, president of the Somali Culture and Development Association of Maine, said he's concerned that many immigrants aren't informed enough to vote.

(An intelligent Refugees opinion!!!! Even he thinks it's a bad idea!)

"They don't know what's going on, they don't speak English," said Barre, who is originally from Somalia. (EXACTLY!!)

When immigrants get the right to vote through citizenship, Barre said, they've spent time learning about the country and working on language skills. That allows them to become informed, he said.

"They have at least learned what's going on – they can make a decision," he said.

Staff Writer Matt Wickenheiser can be contacted at 791-6316 or at:

mwickenheiser@pressherald.com

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story ... 4&ac=PHnws