Proposal to let noncitizens vote in local elections generates debate in Assembly
A proposal to let noncitizens vote in local elections came under scrutiny during its first committee hearing on Wednesday.
"This is an extremely slippery slope," Rep. Arthur J. Corvese, D-North Providence, told the bill's sponsors during a meeting of the House Committee on State Government and Elections.
Bill H 5461, introduced by Rep. Enrique Sanchez and Rep. David Morales, both D-Providence, is intended to serve as enabling legislation. If passed, it would allow cities and towns to open up municipal elections to all residents, regardless of immigration status. Communities could choose to opt out.
Rep. Jason Knight, D-Barrington, questioned this approach and asked whether a town that doesn't allow non-citizens to vote could face lawsuits.
"I think, similar to any legislation we pass, it’s all susceptible to potential lawsuits," Morales responded.
"No, no, no," Knight interjected. "Look, if I change the speed limit from 55 to 65, that’s a different deal ... this is a big deal that you’re talking about."
Questions about residency requirements
Knight also questioned who would be able to vote – specifically, would someone who's in the United States on a visa and spending a month in Providence qualify?
"That is the beauty of the fact that this is enabling legislation," Morales said. Cities and towns would be able to set their own residency requirements, he said. (The state Constitution also requires voters to have been residents of Rhode Island for at least 30 days.)
Knight said he didn't want to leave it up to municipalities to set the rules. He envisioned a scenario where someone with a green card who's been a legal permanent resident for 20 years could vote if they lived in Central Falls, but not if they lived in Cranston.
"I think if we’re going to do it, we should make the rules on a state level and do it," he said.
Knight also commented that the overall idea was "intriguing." If someone who's a legal permanent resident and has lived in Providence for 10 years wants to vote in a mayoral election, "you’d be hard pressed to say no," he said.
More: Providence's Sanchez brothers credit Mexican American roots in their big wins for the left
Questions about loyalty to the United States
Corvese said that no other nations extend the right to vote to people who are in the country illegally. He questioned why the United States should be different.
Sanchez said that undocumented immigrants contribute to the community in many ways, including paying taxes. Corvese said that he was less concerned about taxes, and more concerned about "the integrity of our democracy."
Rep. Robert Quattrocchi, R-Cranston, noted that in order to become a U.S. citizen, "you have to give an oath of allegiance to our nation."
"Do you think that these people really have an allegiance to our country?" he asked.
"People love this country; that’s why they come here," Sanchez said. He said that the bill was necessary because the United States has failed to fix a "terrible, broken immigration system" that makes it extremely hard to become a citizen.
Quattrocchi said that the United States has "major problems with gangs" and drug cartels. "Is that not a danger to our country?" he asked.
"If we're going to talk about gangs, can we mention the mob?" Sanchez asked, later adding, "How do we know that a U.S. citizen is not part of a cartel?"
Quattrocchi said his concern was that "we keep incentivizing illegal immigration," and that the bill "would incentivize it further."
Why advocates support the bill
Support for the bill came from Progreso Latino, a Central Falls-based nonprofit that provides services to the Latino and immigrant communities.
"All members of our community deserve to be able to participate in local elections, as they have a direct impact on them and the community which they live in," policy director Michelle Rivera wrote in a letter in support of the bill.
Rivera noted that the process to become a U.S. citizen "is is so complicated that people often have to hire and pay for lawyers to help navigate it," and often takes six to eight years and costs thousands of dollars.
"We believe that residents of our city who live here, work here, go to school here, raise families here, and pay taxes here deserve to have a say in the direction of our city," she said.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Proposal to let noncitizens vote comes under scrutiny
