Platform : Non-Citizen Voting: A Sampling of Views

THOMASINA REED

President, Board of Education,

Inglewood School District

About 50% of our students are Latino, and almost all their parents are non-citizens. These children are U.S. citizens but can’t vote, so they need someone to vote in their behalf. Probably less than 10% of Latinos in our district are now able to vote. So their chances of electing a Latino representative to the board are slim. And to pass school improvement bonds, for example, you need two-thirds of those voting to vote yes. People with kids in school tend to vote yes and those without tend to vote no; so the votes of non-citizen parents could make the difference in those elections and in what kind of schooling the children can get.

LAURA BLACK

Homemaker, Manhattan Beach

Being an American citizen is a privilege. Everyone who comes here should have to strive for that privilege, and the privilege of voting. We live in a community with a lot of ethnic groups and all of us should work toward one common goal--to be American. If we get too many groups fighting for their diversity we will have nothing in common. Citizens are ready to make a sacrifice for this country. If people don’t really care, why should they vote? That’s why I believe that only citizens, with a commitment to our country, should have the right to vote.

LEO GUERRA

Film editor, publicist, writer, Burbank

There are racists in this country who would object violently to non-European non-citizens voting. But I believe legal residents should be able to vote in all elections, including presidential elections. And undocumented people should be able to vote in school board elections. This is not a precedent. In several cities and school districts around the country, this is being done. In many schools here the majority of parents are undocumented, but most of the children are U.S. citizens. Their parents should have some say.

(PTA) meetings also should give the fullest input possible to parents by conducting meetings in the language of the majority, with translation provided. There should be a different standard for Mexicans and Central Americans because they are not foreign to the Southwest United States. It’s ancestral land for them.

HERB RIVKIN

Program chair, Highlands Democratic Club, Hollywood

Our Declaration of Independence says that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. It doesn’t say that this applies only in some cases. It was meant as a universal principle. So we could apply this, couldn’t we, to include all people here in the United States, be they citizens, non-citizens, illegal aliens or whatever. The only exceptions to who is allowed to vote should be persons who don’t know what the hell they’re doing, and that applies to plenty of citizens. And even someone who becomes a citizen may still feel an intense loyalty to another country.

The Fourteenth Amendment provides that all persons are entitled to equal protection of the law. Citizens and non-citizens--all persons. Nobody in the United States should be deprived of that equal protection when they’re here contributing to that wherewithal on which we all draw.

PARSEGH KARTALIAN

Executive director, Armenian General Benevolent Union, Alhambra

Citizenship is like marriage. When you become a citizen, it means you have made a commitment, that both the good and the bad of this country become a part of you, and you have to stick by it. Without that commitment, how can you make crucial decisions that affect this country? Therefore, I don’t believe that non-citizens should vote. You shouldn’t make decisions for a country you are not part of. Voting is something you shouldn’t take lightly. Newly arrived Armenians may walk in the streets of California, but in their spirits many are walking in their former country. The street name may say Hollywood Boulevard, but in their minds and hearts nothing else has changed.