Council Likes Non-Citizens’ Voting Rights : Government: The advisory measure would urge state lawmakers to allow legal immigrants to participate in city and school elections.

California should allow immigrants who live in the state legally but are not citizens to vote in City Council and school board elections, says a resolution being considered by the Bell Gardens City Council.

The resolution, which the council is scheduled to vote on later this month, calls on state lawmakers to permit non-citizens to have a voice in local politics if they legally live in this country.

Such a provision would add huge voting blocs to the Southeast region, especially in Bell Gardens, where nearly 35% of the residents--more than 14,000 potential voters--are of voting age but cannot cast ballots because they are not U.S. citizens.

The resolution--suggested by council members Josefina (Josie) Macias and Rodolfo (Rudy) Garcia--was first presented to the council last month but was sent back to City Atty. Henry Barbosa for refinement.

Along with Macias and Garcia, Mayor Frank B. Duran and Councilman George T. Deitch say they plan to vote for the resolution. Councilwoman Rosa Hernandez said she plans to vote against it because she would rather encourage Bell Gardens residents to become citizens.

The U.S. Constitution does not prohibit voting by legal immigrants, but allows state legislators to decide who may vote in local elections. In Maryland, for example, legal immigrants may vote in some local and school board elections. But in California, state law requires all voters to be U.S. citizens.

“(Bell Gardens) is welcome to pass any resolution that they like, but the law is clear on this: You have to be a resident to vote,” said Shirley Washington, spokeswoman in the secretary of state’s office. “It would be highly unusual for California to allow that kind of provision.”

The debate over who should have the right to vote is not new. The board of the Los Angeles Unified School District, led by President Leticia Quezada, recently took up the issue but came to no conclusion after a series of heated meetings. The question also has been an issue in the Los Angeles mayoral race.

Proponents argue that most immigrants have green cards and work legally in the United States; they are taxpayers who should be allowed to decide who represents them in local government. After all, proponents say, this country was founded by those who opposed taxation without representation.

“Our people are being taxed to the hilt, and we still don’t have representation,” Garcia said. “Right now, people are making policy decisions that affect our lives, and (legal immigrants) have no say as to who they are.”

Critics maintain that the right to vote is one of the last privileges of being an American citizen and that allowing residents who are not citizens to vote would diminish the importance of casting a ballot. Besides, they argue, achieving the right to vote should be a motivation for immigrants to become citizens.

“It goes against everything we have ever learned about the Constitution and the right to vote,” Bell Gardens resident Ethel Nelson said. “What reason would anyone ever have to become citizens if they can vote no matter what?”

Nelson, who has lived in the city since 1938, said she was shocked when she saw the resolution on the council agenda last month. She attended the meeting to protest it, along with several other Bell Gardens senior citizens. The council delayed action on the resolution.

Garcia, who runs a nonprofit organization in Bell that helps immigrants become citizens, said most of his clients have lived in the United States for years but are intimidated by the often complex naturalization process.

The vast majority of immigrants--especially those who live in predominantly Latino communities--speak Spanish most of the time, he said, and are petrified at the prospect of taking tests in English and being interviewed by English-speaking immigration officials, which is required.

Garcia also said that the administrative cost to gain citizenship can be hundreds of dollars and can be prohibitive to immigrants, many of whom work for minimum wages. Added to that is the cost of books and classes, fingerprints, photographs and a $70 swearing-in fee.

“(They) just don’t have that kind of money,” Garcia said.

Still, some say, rather than trying to change the law, Bell Gardens would provide a better service by sponsoring residents who want to become citizens. The city could, for instance, subsidize processing fees and offer free English and history classes.

Richard Martinez, executive director of the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project, said the City Council could more effectively address needs in the community by undertaking such citizenship programs.

“I would not want to deny anyone the right to express their opinion, especially if they are paying taxes,” Martinez said. “But in the long run, a community is part of a state that is part of a nation that is part of the whole fabric of a country. I think that non-citizens see the value of becoming citizens.”

Martinez agreed that the skyrocketing cost of citizenship keeps thousands of immigrants from taking that step, but said for the most part, they are “people interested in the lives of their community and who want a good life. And they know that a good life is dependent on the government.”