Posted on 07/21/2004 11:14:44 AM PDT by Smogger
SAN JOSE, Calif. - (KRT) - The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to place a controversial ballot measure on the November ballot that could make the city the first in California to allow non-citizens to vote in local school board elections.
Under the proposed charter amendment change, parents or guardians of children in San Francisco schools - including undocumented immigrants - would be allowed to vote.
"I believe this is important because it further democratizes our society," said board president Matt Gonzalez, author of the initiative. The board voted 9-2 to place the measure on the ballot for a city vote.
But Supervisor Fiona Ma, one of two supervisors who voted against the measure, said she opposed it because she believes only U.S. citizens should have the right to vote.
"We start going down a slippery slope when we start giving special privileges," Ma said. "There is no question that improving our schools should be a priority for this body. But expanding voting rights to non-citizens does nothing to further those ends."
San Francisco has attempted to extend voting rights to non-citizens in the past. In 1996, a state judge struck down an attempt by some residents to allow non-citizens to vote in all municipal elections. The judge ruled that the proposal conflicted with the California constitution, which requires U.S. citizenship to vote.
Supporters of the new ballot measure said they are confident that this time, with the narrow focus on local school board elections, the proposal will stand up to a legal challenge.
"It's important because it integrates residents of the city who are disenfranchised in the decision-making process in schools," said Carlo Petroni, a founder of Movimiento de los derechos des inmigrantes, (Movement for Immigrant Rights), a San Francisco group that's campaigning to get the ballot measure approved. "It's good policy and it's good government."
Injunction time.
Ok Carlo let me tell you this one more time, if they have papers and come into this country legally they are immigrants, if they don't have papers and are not here legally they are Illegal's.
Does that sink in now.
Letters to Gov. Arnold from all Freepers to stop the Girly Boys NOW, and make sure all Federal Laws are used to squash this nonsense.
Ops4 God BLess America!
There. Fixed the typo.
Why not just break off San Francisco and make it a sovereign island? T'would turn CA into a contender for Bush this fall, for sure!
In San Francisco, they hate America to the max. Not surprising come from a place that legalized prostitution. Lefties aren't Americans. Perhaps its time we strip them of their right to vote - if they don't love this country enough to protect it, they have no business choosing our elected officials.
Why don't they send absentee ballots to the world. The world has a right to vote in SF.
Isn't that what they said about the dead people that vote?
Do they get a separate secret ballot, or would they just "promise" not to vote for other offices?
Why do they set the dateline for this story as San Jose? Let SF have this insanity...we are trying to prevent it here.
Good God.
And if the measure is defeated, will they STILL let them vote?
Why not just issued edicts!
"I believe this is important because it further democratizes our society..."
Um, sweetie you have to be a member of the society first.
THEY'RE ILLEGAL!!!
By this mentality, they'll have prisoners involved in how fortified a jail should be, or how severe their punishment should be. Don't wanna disinfranchise them, do we?
I've heard EVERYTHING now. Holy Cow, what the heck is going on????
ping
Yeah unlike with Prop. 187, Marina Pfaelzer would have no problem with it. <sarcasm
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