NeverEndingMe
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2011
- Posts
- 15,925
what the fuck is wrong with demoncraps?
if you want to vote, and are illegal ... go home to vote
pssst, fuck you new york
if you want to vote, and are illegal ... go home to vote
New York City is routinely described as a “global hub”, a place so thoroughly penetrated by international capital and migration that it seems at once within and without the United States. It is the centre of American commerce and media, but its politics, demographics and worldly outlook make the Big Apple an outlier.
New York may be about to become even more distinct. The left-leaning New York City council is currently drafting legislation that would allow all legal residents, regardless of citizenship, the right to vote in city elections. If the measure passes into law, it would mark a major victory for a voting rights campaign that seeks to enfranchise non-citizen voters in local elections across the country. A few towns already permit non-citizen residents to vote locally, but New York City would be by far the largest jurisdiction to do so.
Under the likely terms of the legislation, legally documented residents who have lived in New York City for at least six months will be able to vote in municipal elections. Reports suggest that the city council is discussing the legislation with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office, and that a bill might be introduced as soon as this spring.
While the legislation stands a good chance of sailing through the council and even winning the approval of the mayor, the prospect of New York City enfranchising its residents has stoked controversy. Many Americans find the idea of non-citizen voting entirely unpalatable and fear that it undermines the sanctity and privilege of citizenship.
Advocates for non-citizen voting in New York City argue that it would right a glaring wrong. Invoking the ancient American battle cry of “no taxation without representation”, they point to the enormous numbers of non-citizen residents who pay taxes, send their children to public schools, are active members of their communities, but have no say in local elections.
“People are New Yorkers in profound ways without being citizens of the US,” said Ronald Hayduk, a professor of political science at Queens College and a member of the Coalition to Expand Voting Rights. Non-citizen residents contribute $18.2bn to New York state in income taxes every year. According to a 2013 Fiscal Policy Institute study, 1.3 million people in New York City over the age of 18 are non-citizens (a full 21% of the voting age population). Adjusting the figure to account for undocumented migrants, the study claims that about one million more New Yorkers would be eligible to vote were the bill passed.
In the immigrant-heavy borough of Queens, non-citizens make up as much as half of the population in areas like Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona. In parts of Brooklyn and the Bronx, they make up well over a third of certain districts. “It’s very different in New York than in middle America,” said Jerry Vattamala, a staff attorney at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
pssst, fuck you new york