John Stuart Mill wrote that a government who does the bidding of its citizens does not care for them ¬- “Leaving things to the Government, like leaving them to Providence, is synonymous with caring nothing about them.” Mill also makes a statement about passivity – “The nation as a whole, and every individual composing it, are without any potential voice in their own destiny. They exercise no will in respect to their collective interests.” Although Mill is talking of a despotic government, the statement can easily be associated with immigrants and their lack of a voice in the American political system.
Many foreign-born, non-citizens who reside in the United States not only care about their personal destiny, but also about the future of the country. There are approximately 40,000 non-citizens serving in the U.S. military that are willing to die for the U.S., but cannot vote on who they want as Commander in Chief.
[...] Other countries have already decided to let their immigrant population decide for themselves. Non-citizen voting occurs in 20 countries, including New Zealand, Chile, Israel, and all the members of the European Union.[8] Bibliography A Description of the Immigrant Population, Congress of the United States, Congressional Budget Office, November 2004 Democratic Participation and Political Education, John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government, in Liberty, Utilitarianism, and Representative Government, ed. A.D. Lindsay (New York: E.P. Dutton and Co., 1910), chap pp. 202-205, 207-208, 211-2118 Immigrant Voting Rights Receive More [...]
[...] The impact of immigrant voting The foreign-born population living in the United States was reported at 33 million in March 2003.[1] This number represents a portion of the population that cannot partake in the U.S. political system because of their inability to vote. Current voting laws usually require a person to be 18 years of age and a U.S. citizen in order to cast a ballot. The restriction isn't just a prohibition against voting, it's a legal statement which excludes a large part of the U.S. [...]
[...] The concern that non-citizens will encourage electoral fraud is supported by the idea that it will be harder to verify voter registration if non-citizens are allowed in the election process. Although these concerns are held strongly by many, the push for legislation to change immigrant voting laws is occurring in many states. Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin have all pushed for amendments in voting laws in recent times. Illinois has allowed non-citizen voting in school board elections since 1998. [...]
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