Joanne Jacobs discusses a movement afoot in San Francisco (where else?) to allow non-citizen parents of public school students (including illegal aliens) to vote in school elections.
But this seems awfully short-sighted and parochial, even Bay-centric. Why not embrace true universalism and extend the franchise to non-residents as well? Why should all those who, through no fault of our own, are forced to live elsewhere be excluded from participating in the affairs of this ostensibly welcoming city? If it were felt necessary to hold the numbers down, perhaps this extended non-resident franchise could be limited to those who are not citizens and hence who (presumably) are not already voting elsewhere.
The article doesn’t estimate how many (or few) people this proposal will affect. Living within San Francisco is ridiculously expensive – I know I certainly couldn’t have afforded it when I was in the Bay Area – and I just can’t imagine that there are a large number of immigrants with children, particularly those here illegally, living within the city limits.
Along with the obvious issue with citizenship, also disturbing is the precedent this would seem to set in giving parents of students more power in school board elections than residents without school-aged children. Are there school districts in the U.S. in which only parents of currently-enrolled students can vote? This is the first I’ve heard of such a thing.
Why not embrace true universalism and extend the franchise to non-residents as well?
This is not much different than the proposal made by a certain Presidential candidate who would allow the French to have a veto over US foreign policy!
Heck, why distinguish between citizens and noncitizens at all? Let people just drift from one country to another at will and put down roots wherever they are. I’m sure the French and Saudis and so forth would love to help us pick our next President.
Nels, I hope there is no school district in which only parents can vote. Everyone has a stake in the schools: not only because they spend our tax dollars, but because we’ll enjoy or endure their product throughout our lives.
I was hoping they would extend the vote to extraterrestrials as well. We have been observing your planet for some years now, and are ready to get more involved.
My dad told me once that until the 1920s, there were a number of communities with large numbers of immigrants where non-citizens were eligible to vote for municipal offices. I don’t think there’s any Constitutional requirement that only citizens vote in state and Federal elections, either, only a matter of state law.
Chicago (also New York City?) already has voting for neighborhood school board by non-citizen parents. In Chicago, the schools are in theory heavily decentralized, and to tell you the truth I don’t see the big deal.