On Tuesday, College Park, Maryland’s City Council and Mayor Patrick Wojahn are set to vote on opening local elections to non-citizens of the United States. The move is being sponsored by Councilwoman Christine Nagle, who has argued that non-citizens have a right to vote because their lives are impacted by the outcomes of local elections.
Yes… these people are serious. And scarily, this is the direction Maryland is trending.
Non-citizens have been allowed voting rights in Takoma Park, Maryland since 1991. According to Data USA, the rate of citizenship in that city was only 84.6% in 2015, a percentage far lower than the national average of approximately 93%. I wonder why residents there have less interest in becoming Americans? Surely it has nothing to do with receiving benefits that ought to be afforded only to those who legally reside in the U.S. as citizens.
In 2016, Hyattsville and Mount Ranier, Maryland also put forth laws allowing non-citizens to vote, making College Park but another possible casualty in the war on common sense. Maryland appears to be particularly affected by this idea, with ten localities allowing non-citizens voting. According to the Baltimore Sun, the only other local jurisdiction that allows this is (shocker) San Francisco.
Isn’t it important to remember that voting is a privilege, not a right? United States citizens are not guaranteed voting rights by the Constitution. While it’s true that amendments to our founding documents protect certain groups from having this privilege infringed upon at the voting booth, there is no absolute right to the vote. In fact, certain populations, such as minors and those who have committed felonies, are ineligible from legally casting a ballot.
The question is: What have non-citizens done to earn the privilege of voting in our elections?
What about the needs of the roughly 30,000 legal residents of the city? Should the voices of those American citizens share space with a group of people who may or may not be voting in favor of American interests? If this is acceptable, why should we limit the votes to residents at all? Leftists are all in a tizzy about supposed Russian meddling in our elections, but support this measure because it favors their interests.
Thankfully, there are still some groups, like Help Save Maryland, that are hard at work fighting the proposal. For the sake of citizens of College Park, I hope they succeed. This is not racism or discrimination folks, it’s basic common sense. Americans need to choose their own path. Our governance should never be subjected to the whims of a foreign populace. I was of the opinion this was a belief held by both sides of the aisle, but it appears I was mistaken.