In San Francisco County Proposition N was created in 2018. Proposition N allows Non-citizen voters the ability to vote in School Board Elections as long as they are of legal voting age, not in prison or on parole, and who are parents or legal guardians of children living under the age of 19. San Francisco County is the first County to allow Non-citizen voting in California. A professor at the University of San Francisco named Ron Hayduk explained that “prohibiting non-citizens from voting encourages policy that discriminates against them”(Arguments for and against Laws Permitting Non-citizens to Vote in the United States, n.d.). It discriminates against them because politicians run campaigns that are not for immigrant needs because they know they can’t go up to the polls and vote against them. 

We can all agree that a human being needs food, money, healthcare, shelter and education to live a healthy life. Imagine if we didn’t have a voice or say on the policies that are made regarding these very vital topics to live? Well this is what illegal and green-card holders have to go through when coming to America. They have to watch in silence from the side in hope of the right Americans to fight for their human rights. 

I believe that green-card holders deserve to have a voice and vote at the local level of government. LA County can be the second County in California to make history and take a step toward immigration reform. However, some may say that they don’t deserve a voice to be heard because they are not full citizens of the United States yet? If they aren’t full citizens yet then why do they pay more than $90 billion in taxes a year and only receive about $5 billion back in welfare? Why are they contributing to social security while possibly never seeing any retirement benefits? Why are they working the hardest and most labor filling jobs to keep America going while not getting the best health insurance or health care provided to them in case they get injured? Why does America want Immigrants to sacrifice everything they have to become a citizen of the United States while getting nothing in return during the process except for fear of being sent back to their country.

Many immigrants have been living here for the past 10 years and contributing to our society while not having any say in policies that are impacting their lives. Please sign this petition if you agree that green-card holders should be eligible to vote at the local level of LA County. Eventually, in an ideal and perfect world, they should be given the opportunity to be included in any platform of voting and voter empowerment. This is just the first step to a better and brighter future. America wouldn’t be America without the help and hard work of immigrants. Let's give them a voice and unmute the muted.

https://ballotpedia.org/Arguments_for_and_against_laws_permitting_noncitizens_to_vote_in_the_United_States​ 

https://kairoscenter.org/20-million-immigrants-cannot-vote/​  

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3312345?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents​ 

https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-san-francisco-election-immigration-20181026-story.html​ 

https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/immigrants-contribute-greatly-to-us-economy-despite-administrations​ 

https://www.aclu.org/other/immigrants-and-economy​ 

https://www.unidosus.org/issues/immigration/resources/facts​ 

https://sfelections.sfgov.org/non-citizen-registration-and-voting​ 

https://itep.org/immigration/ 

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