MagicMtnDan
07-21-2004, 04:29 PM
San Francisco proposes to let NON-CITIZENS VOTE!
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco voters will have the chance to make their city the first in California to allow non-citizens to vote in school board elections if they have children in the school system.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 on Tuesday to place a charter amendment on the November ballot that would allow residents who are parents or guardians of students to cast such votes. It would apply to illegal aliens as well as other non-citizens.
“This is important because it further democratizes our society,” said board President Matt Gonzalez. He wrote the measure partly as a response to what he termed “the post-Sept. 11, anti-immigrant sentiment that has taken hold in much of the rest of the country.”
Although San Francisco has often been in the forefront on liberal social issues, the proposal to extend even limited voting rights to non-citizens already has generated opposition.
The city attorney advised supervisors that it if the measure is subjected to a legal challenge, a court would likely find it in conflict with the state constitution, which requires voters to be U.S. citizens.
One of the two supervisors who voted against the proposed amendment, Fiona Ma, described it as a misguided attempt to address school problems.
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco voters will have the chance to make their city the first in California to allow non-citizens to vote in school board elections if they have children in the school system.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 on Tuesday to place a charter amendment on the November ballot that would allow residents who are parents or guardians of students to cast such votes. It would apply to illegal aliens as well as other non-citizens.
“This is important because it further democratizes our society,” said board President Matt Gonzalez. He wrote the measure partly as a response to what he termed “the post-Sept. 11, anti-immigrant sentiment that has taken hold in much of the rest of the country.”
Although San Francisco has often been in the forefront on liberal social issues, the proposal to extend even limited voting rights to non-citizens already has generated opposition.
The city attorney advised supervisors that it if the measure is subjected to a legal challenge, a court would likely find it in conflict with the state constitution, which requires voters to be U.S. citizens.
One of the two supervisors who voted against the proposed amendment, Fiona Ma, described it as a misguided attempt to address school problems.