California_Bound

Good Morning Everyone,

I'm a permanent resident in Northern California, and with today's voting, it occured to me the great number of times that your average Californian has to vote on varying matters.

I know that as long as I remain a permanent resident, I cannot vote in federal matters, though I'm curious if I'm eligible to vote in other areas.

C_B

tamms_1965

I think it depends on where you live, but when you register to vote, you are registering for EVERY type of election. If you try to vote, this can be grounds for green card renewal/citizenship.

I'm sure some other more knowledgable folks will give you more details as soon as they see your post.

Duncan Roberts

You can vote for the scotchcast people's choice.

http://www.thescotchcast.com/peoples-choice-standings/

Xebedee

Best not to, really.
It only encourages them.

RoadWarriorFromLP

As a furrin citizen, you cannot vote in any government election. As a resident, your neighbors will choose everyone who lords over ye, from the commander in chief to the dogcatcher. I can only hope for your sake that your neighbors are Democrats.

But reality television welcomes your participation. Frankly, it sickens me to think that the next American Idol could be selected by a gaggle of Communists, a passel of Chechen rebels or other agents of foreign influence, but this is the price we pay for living in a free country. Remember to vote early, and vote often.

Paul S

and some very excellent choices in there too

meauxna

Permanent Residents may be allowed to vote in some local elections.

C_B, look up the Butte County Elections Div; they say you must be a USC to register.
You can check the City Charter and see if there are any limited elections that you may be able to vote in, but be very careful that you don't sign something that says you're claiming to be a USC.

I think most local councils have limited this kind of voting out of existence.

Voting
One of the most important privileges of democracy in the United States of America is the right to participate in choosing elected officials through voting. As a Permanent Resident you can only vote in local and state elections that do not require you to be a US citizen. It is very important that you do not vote in national, state or local elections that require a voter to be a US citizen when you are not a US citizen. There are criminal penalties for voting when you are not a US citizen and it is a requirement for voting. You can be removed (deported) from the US if you vote in elections limited to US citizens.

penguinsix

There are a few small communities that let permanent residents vote in city government elections, but they are few and far between.

At the federal level, you cannot vote, nor can you contribute money to any candidate. Works to your benefit as well as anyone who asks you to donate you can tell "I'm sorry, I can't--it's against the law." Saves you getting hit up for money during election season.

Interesting blog post about foreign nationals who want to get involved, but having to walk a very delicate line. The memories of the Guardian's miserable failure in the write a letter to Ohio campaign echos through all campaigns. By and large non-citizens are not really welcome in the electoral process.

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/04...nd-us-borders/ (Yea, I know it is Fox but it addresses many of these issues).

Ash UK/US

They won't even let you answer surveys or sign petitions around here if you are not a cititzen.

RoadWarriorFromLP

In California, citizenship as a requirement for voting is mandated by the state constitution, or so it would seem. To my (admitted limited) knowledge, there has been no court ruling to determine whether this interpretation of the constitution is correct, but there hasn't been much push to change it.

A few years ago, San Francisco had a referendum to change this for local school board elections. However, it was defeated, so it won't be providing an opportunity to test that interpretation.

Given the climate, I doubt that many communities in California would have voters eager to extend voting rights to non-citizens.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

NO! In case I'm not clear -- NO! In order to avoid any misunderstanding -- NO!

FWIW, I was the attorney in "McDonald v. Gonzales" --

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/1F5E1DEA0281793E88256FB80059E7FE/$file/0371986.pdf?openelement

That case was decided on the narrowest possible ground -- former INS had elected to rely on Hawaii law. In fact, I think the case should not have been published because it has no federal immigration law in it! But, I learned a LOT about the general ground and my arguments went from very narrow to very wide.

Bottom line -- don't even think about voting.

Tracym

I'm not sure I'm clear on what you're saying...

Xebedee

On the upside.
You are exempt from being called for Jury Duty.

That really sucked when I became a USC - must have had me on their sh!t list as I was called to be a grand juryist very soon afterwards.

Bob

No idea about CA...but up in ME, even as an LPR, your allowed to vote on local elections for school admin, mayor and that sort of thing, but to register as a voter who isn't a citizen was more hassle than it was worth, so I never bothered.

Probably isn't worth it if there's the slightest risk this could be seen as claiming US citizenship, even if it were by accident.

Bill_S

Dear California_Bound:

the above is from an experienced immigration lawyer who often answers questions thusly - "Depends on the facts" ; "Maybe"; "You don't provide enough information".

NO! x3 means forget about it.