United States – Democratic state legislators in Massachusetts have sponsored a bill that would allow children and noncitizens to vote in state elections. Non-citizen legal immigrants could vote in municipal elections for “mayor, school committee, city council, city council, selection board, board elections, a school committee referendum, a local referendum or other municipal elections” under the provisions of House Bill 671, which would grant them “the right to vote in municipal elections to non-Commonwealth voters”.
If passed, the bill would not allow green card holders to vote in federal or state elections, as it is against the law. During a hearing on the bill last month, Vanessa Snow, director of policy and organizing for MassVOTE, testified, “Immigrants are essential to our communities. Their children, who may be legal residents but not yet eligible to vote, attend public schools and pay property taxes. Many are working towards citizenship but cannot afford to apply; yet they should have a say in the allocation of public resources.
Featured Hyperlinks. The Boston Herald reports that the state’s current minimum voting age of 18 will be abolished under proposed legislation, H.670. The bill focuses on children in “elementary and secondary education,” so it calls for after-school programs to teach students how to vote and inspire them to make their voices heard at the polls. At a legislative hearing, Professor John Wall of Rutgers University’s Department of Childhood Studies argued that if “just plain stupid” people are allowed to vote, then children should be allowed to vote too.
Only when all eligible citizens have the right to vote in elections can communities ensure that their governments meet their demands. Applying adult standards of voting age and maturity to minors is not only unfair, but also wrong. Even if they have severe dementia, cognitive problems, are illiterate or are just plain stupid, all individuals have the right to vote,” Wall added.
Over the past year, Democratic lawmakers in neighboring states have pushed for legislation comparable to New Hampshire’s to extend voting rights to all of New England. “allowing undocumented immigrants who reside in the state to vote in municipal and state elections” is the proposed wording of a bill in Connecticut. There is a similar law in Rhode Island that would allow voting “regardless of immigration status.”
