Right of NonCitizens to Vote

Issues and Initiatives
Schools
The Black Experience at Lexington High
School Start Times
School Construction
Construction Costs
School Lunch
Urban Design
Center Streetscapes
Energy and Environment
Net Zero
Heat Pumps
Plastic Bag Ban
Natural Gas Service
Solar Panels
Local Politics
Short Term Rentals
Affordable Housing
Gun Control
Medical Marijuana
Right of NonCitizens to Vote
Teardowns, Traffic Lights, Water Rates
Old Issues
Hartwell Anaerobic Digester

Massachusetts state law specifies citizenship as a prerequisite for the right to vote in state and local elections. Three towns (Newton in 2004, Amherst and Cambridge in 1998) have sent home rule petitions to the state legislature asking that at least green card holders be allowed to vote in local elections. These home rule petitions were not approved by the Mass legislature.

According to 2008-2012 American Community Survey estimates, Lexington had 23,330 residents 18 and older, of which 6,221 (26.66%) were foreign born, of which 2,410 (10.33%) were not US Citizens.

Information

Lexington

• Civic Participation by Asian Residents of Lexington: Experiences, Findings and Recommendations, Lexington 2020 Vision Committee (Dec 13, 2013)
• Census data
  • Censusviewer: Lexington Census Data for 2008-2012

State

• Non-citizens (aliens) voting rights in Massachussets - the debate in the City of Newton (2004)

National

• Wikipedia article on Right of foreigners to vote in the United States
• Consent by All the Governed: Reenfranchising Noncitizens as Partners in America's Democracy, by Gabriela Evia, Southern California Law Review, (Nov 1993)
• The Debate Over Non-Citizen Voting: A Primer, by Stanley A. Renshon, Center for Immigration Studies (Apr 2008)
• Census data
  • US Census Factfinder and instructions

Mailing List Threads

• https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lexington/conversations/topics/40429 - Lexington Demographic Report (March 2014)
• https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lexington/conversations/messages/40453 - Who can vote (March 2014)
• https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lex-polrel/conversations/topics/12653 - 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act (Apr 2014, requires registration)