logo

Largely Symbolic: San Francisco Spends $300K To Register Non-citizen Voters

image
Author: Jeff Powers
Created: 29 October, 2018
Updated: 21 November, 2022
1 min read

San Diego, CALIF.- 49 signups.

That's the result of the City of San Francisco's effort to register non-citizen voters for local board of education races.

The 49 signups come to about $6,326 per sign up.

The program is the first-of-its-kind in California and followed the passage of a 2016 San Francisco ballot measure opening school elections to non-citizens who are over the age of 18, city residents and have children under age 19.

Back in July, the city began registering non-citizens — including undocumented immigrants.

The tab has so far totaled about $310,000 setting up the new registration system and encouraging people to sign up. At the time it was placed on the ballot, the City Controller Ben Rosenfield noted Proposition N would cost an estimated $160,000 per election to print and distribute voting materials, train poll workers and separately register people who would become eligible to vote in School Board elections.

Controversial Move

The effort has been a controversial one.

And one likely to rally conservative voices as the caravans continue their march to the border.

Shamann Walton is the San Francisco Unified School District commissioner who introduced the resolution to the school board in support of Measure N in 2016. She said he doesn’t buy into the "concerned" rhetoric, “At the end of the day, for me, it’s important that families who have children in our school to have a say,” he said.

More Choice for San Diego

Robin Hvidston, executive director of We the People Rising, a group that lobbies for stricter immigration enforcement said of the effort, “Non-citizen voting is a very contentious issue,” Hvidston said. “The move to extend voting rights to those illegally residing in San Francisco has the potential to backfire among citizens with a moderate stance on illegal immigration.”

Travis Allen, the gubernatorial candidate who did not make the top two in June, tweeted the following:

https://twitter.com/JoinTravisAllen/status/1056719833901883398

Latest articles

ballot
Independent Voters Have Yet to Fully Flex Their Influence in Presidential Elections
Exit polling from Edison Research shows that self-identified independents made up a larger share of the 2024 vote -- but with independent ID reaching a majority of the electorate, this bloc has yet to fully make its presence felt in presidential elections....
07 November, 2024
-
2 min read
Trump
Do Presidential Elections Really Matter?
In October 2012, I published an op-ed in the Huffington Post asking, “Do Presidential Elections Really Matter?” In May 2023 I wrote a similar column in The Fulcrum asking the question once again....
07 November, 2024
-
4 min read
two parties
The Parties Strike Back: Deceptive Tactics Lead to Rough Night for More Choice Elections
Voters across the US had a chance to change the political landscape in the country forever. In 2024, however, the two major parties were mostly successful at stopping reform to the electoral status quo....
06 November, 2024
-
5 min read