The city of San Francisco this week began allowing non-citizens, including illegal immigrants, to register to vote in the November election for the city school board.
The effort follows the city’s passage of a 2016 ballot measure that gave the right to vote in school board elections to non-U.S. citizens over age 18 who live in San Francisco and have children under age 19, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The measure was approved by a majority of San Francisco’s eligible voters, but after the first two attempts failed.
“This is no-brainer legislation,” Hillary Ronen, of the city’s Board of Supervisors, told the publication. “Why would we not want our parents invested in the education of their children?”
“As a parent myself and a former member of the SF Board of Education it is critical that the voices of all parents are at the table particularly those that have historically been denied a voice in the process,” Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer said.
“We want to give immigrants the right to vote,” Supervisor Norman Yee told KGO. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]Less than four months before November’s general election, which includes the congressional mid-term, state legislature and gubernatorial races as well as 13 ballot measures, a federal judge will rule if Florida’s four-year early voting ban on public college campuses is constitutional.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida Chief Justice Mark Walker on July 16 will consider a preliminary injunction to prevent Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner from enforcing the ban.
If the injunction is sustained, potentially “hundreds of thousands” of students will find it easier to vote on Florida campuses this fall.
The injunction stems from a May 22 lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Florida and six University of Florida and Florida State University students who claim the ban violates students’ 1st, 14th, and 26th amendment rights.
The suit has been joined by two nationwide organizations dedicated to expanding voter access, particularly among populations likely to vote for progressives, such as students. – READ MORE
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