Today, most Americans take it for
granted that the right to vote can come
only with full citizenship. But for the
first 150 years of this nation's
history, many non-citizens were voters
in states and territory elections.
Recently, some immigrant activists and
sympathetic politicians have been
campaigning to restore the vote to
documented non-citizens, at least in
some local elections.
In New York City, for example, City
Councilmember Charles Barron has
introduced a bill called The Voting
Rights Restoration Act. If passed, it
would give legal immigrants the right to
vote after six months residency in the
Big Apple. Barron represents a mostly
African American and Latino district
whose residents can already vote as
citizens. But he is passionate about
changing the status quo for immigrants
who have no voice at the ballot box.
"It disenfranchises one-point-three
million non-citizens who are legal
residents here in New York City, who pay
eighteen point two billion dollars worth
of taxes. Many have volunteered for the
war in Iraq. [So] they should have the
right to vote in municipal elections."
One frequent participant in forums and
discussion dedicated to immigrant voting
rights is 27 year old Naila Rosario. She
came to the US from Colombia when she
was a girl and stayed on assorted visas
until recently, when she applied for the
citizenship she hopes will be finalized
in 2009. Rosario says she loves American
democracy, and has participated fully as
a community activist, yet she remains
frustrated.
"I can't vote! I can support candidates
but I can't go out there and make my
voice heard," she complains. "That's a
big part of that process and in that way
I feel very handicapped."
When a reporter points out to Rosario
that she has been free to participate in
many aspects of the democratic process,
such as canvassing, protesting and
political meetings, she quickly counters
with the question: "If I give you half
your rights, should you stop complaining
for the other half of your rights? No!
You should get all of your rights. I pay
all my taxes. So therefore I should get
all my rights as well." [Otherwise] she
adds, "it's 'taxation without
representation.'"
"Taxation without representation is
tyranny!" was a rallying cry for the
American colonists who wanted
independence from Britain in the 18th
century. They were protesting the fact
that they were taxed by the British
Parliament without any of their
representatives in that body.
Some 21st century voting rights
advocates have adopted that slogan for
themselves. But Stanley Renshon, a
political science professor at the City
University of New York, and the author
of The 50% American: Immigration And
National Identity in an Age of Terror,
rejects that comparison.
"First of all," says Renshon, "the
colonies didn't have any representation,
and they weren't going to get any." But
people who come here today," he notes,
"have a comparatively easy way of
getting the vote. All they have to do is
come here legally, spend five years
here, take a really easy test in
citizenship and English and not rob a
bank or get involved with dope dealing,
and bingo! They are citizens!"
In reality, gaining U.S. citizenship is
rarely so simple or so sure. Critics
cite a huge backlog at the Immigration
and Naturalization Service and other
agencies responsible for processing
citizenship applications. Indeed,
immigrants must sometimes wait 10 years
or longer to complete the process.
However, there is no required link
between citizenship and the right to
vote. Between 1776 and 1926, 40 states
and territories allowed immigrants to
vote in some elections, although that's
no longer the case. ""What changed was
the size of the immigrant population,
the complexion of the immigrants, the
religion of the new immigrants and local
reaction to those factors," says
political science professor Ron Hayduk,
who directs the Immigrant Voting
Project.
In his book Democracy for All: Restoring
Immigrant Voting Rights in the United
States, Hayduk puts the present period
in historical context. "Right now, we're
facing unease with the newcomers, asking
ourselves "Are these folks going to be
'real' Americans? Are they going to
assimilate? Are they going to affect the
economy in a negative way?"
But those are legitimate concerns,
according to Stanley Renshon, who
believes that the law mandating a five
year waiting period for citizenship -
and the vote - is good for both
immigrants and those already rooted
here.
"It is a test, to some degree, of
commitment," he says. "It takes a little
time to learn English for some people.
It takes a little time to know the
country. It takes a little time to get
the civics background. And so when
people make that effort, they are
invested in what they are doing."
Voting itself, adds Renshon, "is about
the idea of learning about the issues
that face this country and learning
where you stand as an American, not as
an immigrant, but as an American. It
takes some time to move out beyond the
frame that you came with."
It is unclear whether New York City's
Voting Rights Restoration Act and
similar measures in Washington, D.C.;
San Francisco, California and other
locales will become law. One thing is
certain though: as immigrants continue
to pour into the United States in record
numbers, the question of what it
actually means to be an American - in
both spirit and in law - will continue
to energize public debate. |
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大多数美国人都想当然的认为，只有公民才拥有选举权。其实在美国前150年的历史中，很多非公民在州和地方的选举中都有权参与投票。最近，一些活动人士开始发起行动，要求至少在一些地方选举中，恢复合法移民的选举权。例如，纽约市的一项议案提出给予住满6个月的合法移民选举权。
在纽约市布鲁克林区一个寒冷的夜晚，大多数纽约人都已回到家中或正匆忙地往家赶。但是纽约市议会议员查尔斯.巴伦还在一个小咖啡馆里，为一个社区讨论会作准备，讨论的主题是他最近提出的“恢复选举权法案”。巴伦代表的社区主要由非洲裔和拉美裔组成。那里身为美国公民的居民已经有权参加选举，但是巴伦争取改变现状，为那些没有选举权的移民作代言人。
他说：“我关心这个问题是因为，现在的法律剥夺了纽约市130万合法移民的选举权，他们上交182亿美元的税金，他们中很多人志愿参军加入伊拉克战争，如果要征兵的话他们会应徵入伍。他们为纽约的文化和金融做出了卓越的贡献。既然你能够向他们徵税，他们能为所谓的民主而牺牲，他们就应该有权参加市政选举。”
现年27岁的纳伊拉.罗萨里奥来自哥伦比亚，她在孩童时期来到美国，期间使用过各种类型的签证，直到最近她才递交了公民申请，她希望能够在2009年获得公民身份。罗萨里奥说，她热爱美国的民主，并全力投入社区活动，但她依然感到沮丧。
她说：“我居然不能投票！我可以支持候选人，但我不能出去参加投票。我感到非常受挫。如果别人给你一半的权利，你会就此停止抱怨失去另一半权利吗？不会的！你应该得到所有的权利。我依法纳税，所以也应该拥有该有的全部权利。这真是‘只有缴税的义务却无选举的权利。’”
“要纳税却不给代表权就是暴政”是18世纪美国争取从英国独立的诉求口号。当时殖民地的美国人民抗议，英国议会向他们徵税，但在英国议会里却没有他们的代表。21世纪的一些选举权维护团体把这项口号借为己用。
斯坦利.伦尚是纽约城市大学的政治学教授，着有“一半的美国人：恐怖时代的移民和国民身份”一书。
他不认同这种做法：“首先，那是殖民时代的问题。那时的美国人没有任何代表权，他们无法获得代表权。但是今天的情况不同。今天来美国的移民能够相对容易的获得选举权。他们所要做的就是以合法的方式来美国，在这儿呆5年，通过简单的公民考试和英语测试，不要去抢银行或贩毒，然后申请入籍，就成为美国公民了。就这么简单。”
纽约市的“恢复选举权法案”以及华盛顿市、旧金山和其它地区的类似议案最终能否成为法律还不清楚。但有一点是肯定的：随着创记录的大量移民继续涌入美国，作为一个美国人--不管在精神上还是在法律上到底意味着什么，这方面的争论将继续下去。
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