by Eamon Dunn, Community News Service
On Town Meeting Day, Burlington will vote on a provision to allow all legal resident voting.
If the provision passes, green card holders, participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA program, and people with eligible work permits would be able to vote in municipal elections.
That’s as long as they meet other voter eligibility qualifications such as being over the age of 18 and registered to vote.
If the measure passes, an estimated 5.5% of Burlington’s population — the equivalent of a few thousand voters — would gain the right to cast a ballot.
“The charter change proposal is to allow legal residents who are not citizens of the U.S. but reside in the U.S. on a permanent or non-temporary basis to vote in local municipal elections,” said Gillian Nanton, assistant director of community engagement, neighborhoods and workforce development for the City of Burlington’s Community & Economic Development Office, or CEDO.
Nanton said CEDO has been assisting in the outreach and education efforts around this ballot item, including creating a website with information and answers to frequently asked questions, outreach on social media, producing informational videos in multiple languages, posting on Front Porch Forum and distributing hundreds of lawn signs.
Burlington residents voted this provision down in 2015, but since then both Montpelier and Winooski have passed similar measures.
“I think that Winooski and Montpelier having passed it makes a big difference,” said Burlington City Councilor Gene Bergman, a Progressive representing Ward 2. “I think there are a lot of people in this city who don’t like to be first.”
If passed by voters, the charter change would then have to be approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor. Both Montpelier’s and Winooski’s provisions were vetoed by Gov. Phil Scott before the Legislature overruled the governor’s vetoes.
Read the original story and listen to the audio on Vermont Public
Categories: Burlington, Elections, Local government
Doesn’t BTV have enough challenges without having to add non-citizen voting to the pile.
I fully understand the desire to participate in the franchise but there are certain obligations and responsibilities which go along with the vote. Despite some claiming the state constitution does not expressly forbid it it does in fact say you must be a citizen.
As noted 5.5% of new voters ( thousands)without citizenship can shift elections significant and without accountability as to end result- especially in a small area like Burlington.
Our Canadian friends to the north recognize this and categorically deny the vote to non citizens. You would hope that Vermonters would think this through and act similarly.
My guess they will be lemmings to Lake Champlain.
Non- citizens ( illegals) do not have a Right to Vote period!!
Wake up morons wake up!!
As Bert and vtlaxer correctly point out, you have to be a CITIZEN to vote. Any other answer is another step down the road to socialism. But I gotta get going if I’m gonna make my flight to Nicaragua. I’m voting there later today.
They move in haste to change election laws while their funding corruption is exposed. Multiple small donations by a single person totaling thousands upon thousands of dollars. When the person was asked if they donated that amount of money, they said “no.” So, appears small election donations are duplicated and the money laundering scam avoids detection from the FEC. Thank you James O’Keefe.
I searched the FEC contribution list. Under Walmart, 05641, one contributor, a cashier, listing two different addresses in Barre. 683 contributions, between 12/23/22 and 10/29/2020. 27 contributions made between November 16 and November 18, 2022. All donations under $5.00 to Democrat/Progressive organizations and PACs. The name of the person matching the address doesn’t appear to be a cashier at Walmart. Thank you James O’Keefe. Anyone can search this database and review the mulitple entries and filings. Hiding in plain sight if one bothers to look.
There is a huge difference between Legal Permanent Residents and “work permit holders”
Anyone who showed up at the border yesterday and claims asylum, whether it is credible or not, is now eligible for a work permit while their “asylum” case is heard. This can take years.
So under this current language, they can be at the border, processed, then within a month be in Burlington voting in OUR elections technically.
Then when an immigration judge denies an asylum claim, how does a poll worker at the City of Burlington even know what document to request?
They don’t.
Make no mistake people. This is either by evil design to grasp at power or we are being managed by absolute morons.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention- what’s the impetus to become a US citizen if you are already given all the rights of one?