02-07-2024, 09:00 PM
(02-07-2024, 08:35 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Bel, my friend, you're much smarter than that. This is a trial balloon. You're in no way naive enough not to think there will not be a push for this at the state and federal level if local efforts are successful. I'm sure it will be coupled by accusations of racism or nationalism if you oppose it as well.
This is something that has existed in some cities for years, though. It's not a new development and has been going on for close to a decade at least and it hasn't moved past that in any meaningful way. Only California, Maryland, and Vermont (and DC) have municipalities that allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. All states have language in their constitutions that indicate specifically citizens have the right to vote. There is no affirmative right to vote at the federal level, but a 1996 law prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections.
The amount of disentanglement it would take to have any serious push on this would be huge.
FWIW, it is a very interesting discussion to have, the idea of non-citizens voting. Here is a link for a brief rundown of the arguments: https://ballotpedia.org/Arguments_for_and_against_laws_permitting_noncitizens_to_vote_in_the_United_States
I've actually written position papers on both sides of this topic for various reasons, often in discussions around the characteristics of a polyarchy the way we quantify them.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
