Thread: Newton aldermen OK vote for noncitizens

Newton aldermen OK vote for noncitizens

February 25, 2007

By a 20-4 vote, Newton aldermen approved allowing residents who are not US citizens the right to vote in local elections.

Ted Hess-Mahan , alderman at large from Ward 3 , sponsored the measure, saying it is only fair that residents who pay taxes, send their kids to school, and own property in Newton should also be able to vote on measures that affect them. The overwhelming vote contrasts with 2005, when Hess-Mahan couldn't drum up support for a similar proposal.

Mayor David Cohen must ask the city's legislative delegation to file the proposal with the Legislature, which must approve it as a home-rule measure.

Hess-Mahan said Cambridge, Amherst, and Wayland are seeking similar approval.

CONNIE PAIGE

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articl ... ncitizens/

This is bad news,,,once this happens most of them will start moving there, then they will take over the government totally. I don't understand why they have to reward this.

This is not good at all. It's ridiculous.

home many people in the town does tis effect ? what issues are they going to be allowed to vote on Illegaly

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_r ... s_let.html

Thursday, March 1, 2007
Newton pols: let legal immigrants vote
By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff

Newton city aldermen want to give legal immigrants who are not citizens the right to vote in local elections, sparking debate among state lawmakers, immigrant rights advocates and opponents about the meaning of citizenship amid the changing demographics of the region.

The aldermen last week approved a proposal to allow resident aliens to vote, joining Cambridge, Amherst and Wayland in passing similar measures in recent years. Two of the municipalities have asked the Legislature for authority to grant legal immigrants -- those with green cards -- the right to vote over the last decade, but the lawmakers, wary of a backlash against immigration and the power of a new batch of voters, have not approved the requests.

"There are some cities with large immigrant populations and local elected officials are often sensitive about the power that a large voting bloc of say, Cambodians or Haitians or any other immigrant group might be able to wield," said State Representative Ellen Story (D-Amherst), whose town has repeatedly sought the authority to allow non citizens the right to vote.

In Newton, Alderman Ted Hess-Mahan, who spearheaded the proposal in that city, said that residents who pay taxes, send their children to school, and own property in Newton should also be able to vote on measures that affect them. One in 12 Newton residents is a legal immigrant, many of them Chinese or Russian. The resolution could give voting rights to as many as 4,000 people, Hess-Mahan estimated.

"If you had even just 2,000 people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to vote come out, it could mean the difference in an important election," he said.

Under the Newton proposal, the city’s Election Commission would create a register of qualified permanent resident alien voters.

Permanent resident aliens -- people who have so-called green cards -- would have to sign registration forms including a sworn declaration that they live in Newton, are legally in the United States, and are seeking to become citizens, if eligible. (People with green cards have taken steps to becoming naturalized but are not yet citizens.) Under the new resolution, they would be able to vote only in local -- but not state or federal -- elections.

Lorrie Hall, founder of the Massachusetts Coalition for Immigration Reform, said her group opposes the proposal because it diminishes the privilege of voting and removes a motivation to become a citizen.
"Why become a citizen if you get all the privileges reserved for citizens?" she said.