How the search for non-citizen voters is harming us a country

Standford Law Review essay

A detailed and well reasoned essay in the Standford Law Review tells how recent efforts to identify (mostly mythical) non-citizen voters, may lead to negative consequences for naturalized citizens (and the country as a whole):

The Hunt for Noncitizen Voters

October 31, 2012

Highlights:

...efforts to weed out noncitizen voters follow on the heels of legislation targeting undocumented immigrants in a number of states. Yet citizens may be more harmed by the new laws than noncitizens, especially since the number of noncitizens registering to vote has turned out to be quite small. Wrongfully targeting naturalized or minority citizens in the search for noncitizens could also have negative ramifications for society as a whole, reinforcing unconscious bias about who is a “real” American and creating subclasses of citizens who must overcome additional hurdles to exercise the right to vote.

...Each of these laws is a stepping-stone on the path to subsidiary citizenship. Rather than creating new obstacles to democratic participation, we should focus our energy on ensuring that all eligible citizens are able to exercise the fundamental right to vote.

See the full essay here: http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/online/hunt-noncitizen-voters

Posted: to Citizenship News on Mon, Nov 12, 2012
Updated: Mon, Nov 12, 2012