The city of Boston, which declares itself a sanctuary city, is considering a new resolution to allow non-citizen immigrants to vote in their local elections.
According to Fox News, it has the support of a majority of members on the city council:
The self-proclaimed sanctuary city of Boston is considering a resolution that would allow immigrants with “legal status” to vote in local elections – a proposal that reportedly has gained support from the majority of Boston city councilors and was weighed during a council meeting on Tuesday.
Councilor Kendra Lara introduced the home rule petition, which was debated during a Tuesday afternoon hearing among fellow councilors, immigration advocates and city election officials, The Boston Herald reported.
“We have people who, despite not being given a voice in their local government through the ballot, have worked, sacrificed and invested in their neighborhoods, and all people should have a say in the decisions that impact their daily lives,” Lara reportedly said.
This is being influenced by a Democrat from a small city in Maryland, which allows non-citizen immigrants to vote in their elections. And they don’t even ask these immigrants about their legal status:
Jessie Carpenter, a city clerk for Takoma Park, Maryland, reportedly presented Boston councilors with a similar policy change already in effect in her out-of-state, much smaller jurisdiction.
The number of immigrants in the city of Boston, with a population of more than 650,000 residents compared to the more than 17,000 residents in Tacoma Park, is likely much higher.
Carpenter told the Boston City Council on Tuesday that in Tacoma Park, immigrants are not asked about their legal status when they register to vote and instead are simply asked for proof of identity and city residency, according to the Herald. She said that since Tacoma Park has just “hundreds” of registered noncitizen voters, she keeps their information in a simple Excel spreadsheet, and the list of people eligible to vote is updated once non-citizens move, as indicated by return to sender city mail.
Some members were concerned that if noncitizens are allowed to vote in local elections, that they could be mistakenly permitted to vote in state or federal elections and that could jeopardize them getting full citizenship in the future:
During the meeting, other councilors voiced concern that noncitizens could mistakenly be permitted to cast ballots in state or federal elections if the change regarding city elections comes to fruition. That, some say, could jeopardize immigrants’ pathway toward citizenship. City Councilor Liz Breadon said, “If they’re on a pathway to citizenship, you didn’t want a mistake to happen that would put that in jeopardy because the federal government has a big black and white all or nothing approach to these things.”
How about considering the fact that it could jeopardize the integrity of state and federal elections??? Oh right, it would be okay if that happened because, you know, Republicans must be defeated at all costs.