Transcript Slide 1

SHOULD NON-CITIZENS
HAVE VOTING RIGHTS,
AGAIN?
Ron Hayduk
Associate Professor of Political Science
Borough of Manhattan Community College,
CUNY
Three points to consider in thinking
about IVR (aka NCV):



1. It’s legal. The Constitution does not
preclude it and the courts have upheld voting by
noncitizens. Moreover, noncitizens enjoyed
voting rights for most of U.S. history.
2. It’s rational. Moral and practical reasons to
restore IVR, including notions of equal rights
and treatment; democracy means all.
3. It’s feasible. Noncitizen voting is making a
comeback today.
Noncitizen Voting in History:
1776 to 1926
Noncitizens voted in local, state and
federal elections
 Practiced in 40 states & federal territories
 Immigrants also ran for office – and won
 Immigrants often made the difference
between winners & losers
 Voting by noncitizens: American as Apple
Pie and older than our national pastime
(baseball)

Democratic Ideals
•
•
•
•
No taxation without representation
All men (human beings) are created equal
People endowed with inalienable rights
Government should rest on the consent of
the governed
• Democracy means rule by the people; not
some of the people but all of the people
• Otherwise, tyranny (Benjamin Franklin)
VOTING is not about CITIZENSHIP
Voting is about who shall have a say
Women and Blacks were citizens but
could not vote
 They were denied voting rights on the
basis of sex and race – not citizenship
 Voting not inextricably linked to
citizenship; Not naturally connected
 Voting is about who can select
representatives; who controls government
 Voting is mechanism to determine whose
interests prevail — about political power

Immigrant Voting in Practice




Initially, buttressed white, male, propertied
class (until 1840s -- property qualifications
removed)
But also, encouraged newcomers to build a
stake in U.S.; nurtured attachments.
Budding Americans learned civics by practice
Fostered immigrant political incorporation
Why Immigrant Voting Eliminated?


Fear & Prejudice; Fear of others who were
different; discrimination
Dominant groups felt threatened by newcomers:







held different political views;
had different economic interests;
practiced different religions
Spoke different languages
Were not viewed as “white” at the time
Seen as inferior
Sound familiar?
Immigrant voting eliminated in
stages; internal conflict or wars




French Revolution 1789, influx of radicals – opposed
to the Federalists who were in power
War of 1812 – fear of foreign enemies
Influx of Irish leading up to Civil War – Irish opposed
Slavery (also not “white”, Catholic, drinkers, poor, etc);
South eliminated NCV
1880s -1920: influx of Southern and Eastern
Europeans (Italians, Jews, Greeks); “swarthy,” politically
suspect, fear would not assimilate; dilute U.S. culture
and identity. Sound familiar?
Response to other developments
• Mass Social Movements & Third Political Parties – Populist,
Labor, Socialist
• Posed a threat to both Democrats and Republicans -- voters
could take over government
• Elimination of NCV during same time as imposition of other
barriers to franchise (poll taxes, literacy tests, registration.)
• Anti-immigrant sentiment grew; WWI grew even worse
• NCV eliminated, state by state, ending in 1926
• National Origins Act passed 1924. Closed doors to non- western
European immigrants; established race-based quotas
• Race, Class, and Power lie at the heart of struggles over voting
Civil Rights -- Immigrant
Rights
• Civil Rights Movement swept away
many obstacles to voting and
established anti-discrimination laws
• But much of it’s work incomplete;
The American Dream, MLK,jr’s
Dream, Cesar Chavez’s Dream…still
out of reach for far too many
• New immigrants are new outsiders;
excluded; discriminated; exploited
• Join African Americans at bottom of
social order
Changing Demographics




25 million adults in U.S. are noncitizens
Almost 1 in 10 nationally; more in many states
NY State – 12% -- one out of ten adults
In some areas ¼ to ½ of total population are
noncitizens and can’t vote
 NYC – 22% of total adult population
 Rivals political exclusion of blacks, women &
youth
Noncitizens in Selected Towns
New York State, 2000
Geography
Population 18
years and
over
Population 18 years and
over; Not a citizen
(foreign born, not
naturalized)
%Non-Citizen 18 Years Old
& Over
6,078,005
1,394,508
22.9%
White Plains, Westchester County
41,825
8,852
21.2%
3
Newburgh, Orange County
18,864
3,886
20.6%
4
New Rochelle, Westchester County
54,977
10,612
19.3%
5
Mount Vernon, Westchester County
51,101
9,681
18.9%
6
Glen Cove, Nassau County
20,990
3,859
18.4%
7
Yonkers, Westchester County
148,640
25,822
17.4%
8
Peekskill, Westchester County
16,940
2,941
17.4%
9
Rye, Westchester County
10,532
1,595
15.1%
10
Ithaca, Tompkins County
26,464
3,314
12.5%
11
Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County
22,170
2,449
11.0%
12
Middletown, Orange County
18,258
1,904
10.4%
1
New York city
2
0.0%
California Legislature
California Population
Texas Legislature
Texas Population
Arizona Legislature
Arizona Population
Nevada Legislature
Nevada Population
Florida Legislature
Florida Population
New York Legislature
New York Population
New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Population
Latino Representation in
Noncitizen Rich States
Latino Representation in Noncitizen-Rich States
35.0%
30.0%
25.0%
Latino
Noncitizens
(Percent)
20.0%
Latino Citizens
(Percent)
15.0%
Latino State
Legislators
(Percent)
10.0%
5.0%
Noncitizens by NYC Council District
Total Adult
Population NYC
Race/Ethnicity
Number of Adult NonCitizens in NYC
% of community that is
disenfranchised
White
2,385,387
268,203
12%
African-American, AfroCaribbean, and African
1,457,119
245,303
17%
Mexican
129,837
99,951
77%
Puerto Rican
542,029
6,635
1%
Cuban
36,717
6,317
17%
Dominican
294,598
164,375
56%
Colombian, Ecuadorian,
and Peruvian
153,878
88,060
57%
Salvadoran
15,772
9,983
63%
Other Latino
308,624
128,725
42%
Chinese
280,390
126,877
45%
Indian
120,669
63,929
53%
Filipino
46,521
17,104
37%
Japanese
19,862
16,752
84%
Korean
64,762
37,221
57%
Other Asian
62,776
34,321
55%
Native American
25,257
11,067
44%
Other Multiple
88,141
36,184
41%
Total Adult
Population
# of Adult
Non-Citizens
% of Borough disenfranchised
Brooklyn
2,485,879
502,827
20%
Bronx
1,302,955
230,507
18%
Manhattan
1,554,110
275,454
18%
Queens
2,207,025
550,424
25%
458,309
36,133
8%
Borough
Staten Island
Immigrants’ plight reflects their
political exclusion
 Immigrants score lowest in employment, housing,
education, healthcare, welfare, criminal justice
 1 in 4 immigrants are poor
 1 in 4 children of immigrants go hungry
 Discriminatory policies and practices are inevitable
by-products of immigrant political exclusion
 Elected officials can ignore their interests
 Employers, landlords, etc. can take advantage
VOTING AND DEMOCRACY
 Voting is the cornerstone of democracy
 Government affects you daily
 Voting keeps government, responsive,
representative and accountable
 Participation = Power
 Communities with low turnout get fewer
services
 Democracy means rule by ALL the people
Non citizen voting is making
a comeback: demographic
change & mass mobilization








Noncitizens currently vote in local elections
NYC first to restore NCV (1969-2003)
Chicago – School elections (1988)
Maryland – local elections in six towns
Mass. – Cambridge and Amherst
Cities and states where IVR advocates working:
Washington D.C., San Francisco, LA, Conn., Maine,
Wisconsin, Minn., Fl, CO, NJ, TX, NYS & NYC
Globally, 45 countries allow noncitizens to vote in
local, regional and/or national elections
Primarily for “legal” immigrants in local elections
Skeptical? Arguments Against voting
by noncitizens (and responses)
► Citizenship
first, voting rights second
 Already a pathway to vote—become a citizen
► Would
diminish value of citizenship
► Would erase an important distinction between
citizens and non-citizens
► Would reduce incentives to naturalize
► NC need time to learn American political culture
► Create divided loyalties
► Would increase tensions among minorities
Citizenship First, Voting Second
Not mutually exclusive; Increase pathways to
citizenship & expand democracy
But the average time is 8-10 years to naturalize
Worse, many immigrants (legal, not illegal) are
not eligible to become U.S. citizens
Earlier times immigrants could naturalize easily
In the meantime, immigrants contribute in
countless ways to life of our cities and country
Pay $18 billion in taxes to NYS (15.5%)
Diminish value of citizenship and
reduce incentives to naturalize
There are ten rights and privileges that
one gains by becoming a citizen, including
being eligible for numerous benefits,
obtaining government jobs, traveling
outside the U.S; voting is only one
 Most legislation only contemplates voting
in local elections (not state and/or federal)
 Plenty of incentives to naturalize
 Distinctions between citizen and NC sharp

Non citizens lack sufficient
knowledge to vote and feeling for
American Institutions and culture





Immigrants can not make informed decisions
Specific knowledge is not pre-requisite to vote; Many
citizens would fail test of basic political knowledge
Comes dangerously close to stated reasons for literacy
tests, opposing women’s suffrage, African Americans
If you move to new town, you need to learn about that
town’s political structure, candidates, issues.
Paternalistic
Dual or divided loyalties
 Why allow NC vote without taking pledge of
Allegiance?
 NC might vote against U.S. interests, especially in time
of war
 But no U.S. citizen required to swear oath of
allegiance.
 Flawed to assume native born are “loyal” and, equally,
that noncitizens are not “loyal” to U.S.
 Who determines the U.S. national interest?
 Dissent can be patriotic
 Non citizens demonstrate their commitment to U.S. by
being engaged and involved community members
NCV creates tensions with minorities
 NCV would exacerbate conflicts that exist between
African Americans and Caribbean immigrants,
Puerto Rican’s and Dominicans, Chinese and
Koreans, and so on.
 Winner take all elections and “majority minority”
districts increase competition
 Reductions in government spending, growing
inequalities related to globalization increasingly pit
native-born (of all stripes) against immigrants
Expand Opportunities for All –
Improve our democracy





Campaigns for NCV are part of larger immigrant
rights movement
Shared interests in safe streets, good schools,
affordable housing, health care, and good jobs
NCV would insure government is representative,
responsive, and accountable to all
Idea that NC should vote is older, practiced
longer and is more consistent with democratic
principles that the idea that they should not vote
189 out of the 231 years of U.S. existence NC
voted; NCV is rule—not exception
Inclusion and equality
• Core ideas of Civil Rights Movement
appear today as Immigrant Rights
• Democracy is evolving
• NCV is suffrage struggle of our time
• NY—home of Statue of Liberty and
Ellis Island
• Let’s restore NCV and make history,
again