Thread: New Haven Mayor Wants Undocumented to Vote

New Haven Mayor Wants Undocumented to Vote

Published December 14, 2011

Fox News Latino


The Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, has a message for undocumented immigrants in his town: Come vote!

Mayor John DeStefano said he will ask the state Legislature to allow undocumented immigrants to vote in municipal elections. He said his proposal would create a more engaged community.

“If you live here, you pay taxes here and send your kids to school here, you should be able to vote,” DeStefano told the New Haven Register.

Undocumented voters would still not be able to vote in state or federal elections.

DeStefano's statement was followed by a cool reaction from the governor, who said he would “hear the mayor out,” though wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea.

"It's not an idea that I'm particularly comfortable with," said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat. "I think there are obligations that run with citizenship and there are privileges that run with citizenship."

New Haven has a reputation of being immigrant-friendly. In 2007, the city approved a program providing municipal identification cards for all residents, including undocumented immigrants, to provide services such as banking and using the library.

There are about 11,000 undocumented immigrants living in New Haven, the newspaper said.

If approved by the state legislature, New Haven would follow other municipalities that allow undocumented immigrants to vote in local elections.

Half a dozen municipalities in Maryland allow non-citizens to vote, and Chicago allows them to vote on school issues. San Francisco and Portland, Maine, are considering similar proposals.

Opponents say immigrants already have an avenue to cast ballots by becoming citizens. They say allowing non-citizens to vote dilutes the meaning of citizenship and could lead to fraud or skew elections.

Based on reporting by The Associated Press.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/new...ented-to-vote/

Connecticut mayor wants voting rights for illegal aliens

Dave Gibson, Immigration Reform Examiner
December 14, 2011

On Tuesday, local media reported that New Haven Mayor John DeStefano will petition the Connecticut legislature to allow illegal aliens to vote in municipal elections.

According to the New Haven Independent, about 10,000 foreign nationals live within the city.

The Democratic mayor claims that illegal aliens pay taxes through their rent payments and therefore should be allowed to vote.

Under the proposal, illegal aliens would still be barred from state and federal elections.

New Haven has long been considered a ‘sanctuary city’ and in 2007 when the city began issuing ID cards to illegal aliens to make it easier for them to gain access to public services.

If the measure should pass, New Haven will join Chicago and several towns in Maryland which allow foreign nationals to vote in municipal elections.

www.examiner.com

Well hell, why not allow tourists to vote? They pay taxes too, don't they?

Wait, why not allow people to vote as many times as they want? We can pick up fake IDs in the "community" and vote under different names too!

Hold on, why not let KIDS vote too? They live in the community too, no?

Awww why not let Rover and Mr. Tinkles vote too, they're also part of the "community"

Un-be-lie-va-ble!!!

"Johnny" 2 bit DeStefano: Telephone 203-946-8200.
http://twitter.com/MayorDestefano
http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-DeSt ... 9059253717

Our most sacred right as an American, somebody please!

"Johnny you broke your Mama's heart again!"