Brickbat: Every Vote Counts

Jennifer M / Dreamstime.com

Two years ago, San Francisco, California, voters approved a measure allowing non citizens, including illegal aliens, to vote in school board elections. This year, the city spent about $310,000 trying to register non-citizens to vote. They signed up exactly 49.

Comments

[sharmota4zeb]

Israel allows non-citizen residents to vote in local elections. People born in the Golan Heights and Jerusalem into non-citizen families who lived there before Israel controlled that land have the option of signing up for citizenship or remaining permanent residents. Like my grandfather's Russian ancestors, they did not cross the border, the border crossed them.

[DiegoF]

The Druze are a very interesting ethnoreligious group whose faith calls on them specifically to not seek a state of their own, but to be loyal citizens of whatever state they are in without controlling it. So the ones who are actually in Israel are more zealously devoted to the Jewish State than the Jews. And so it's pretty interesting that after annexation the ultra-loyal Israeli Druze now find themselves sharing a state with their brothers the hostile Syrian Druze, across whom as you say the border moved (and Syria still regards that land as its own, and the Israelis as an invading army to be resisted).

[loveconstitution1789]

Its about time we call Israel what it is.

A Socialist Religious State for Jewish persons.

Its not a democracy where the votes of all citizens are desired. If there were ever a majority that sought to end the Jewish State, that would never be allowed.

[DiegoF]

LC1789 I am so disappointed in you! 🙁
I did not see that coming. I would never have guessed it at all.
Oh well people cannot agree on everything!

[loveconstitution1789]

I would be happy to discuss why you think what I said was incorrect.

[Kivlor]

Oh damn! I didn't expect that from you LC... Wow.

[vek]

Actually, they're Ethno-National Socialists, just like the Nazis.

Voting for who runs your fascist state doesn't make it any less fascist.

Frankly, I have no problem with the Jews doing their thing... Sometimes you gotta get tough to protect your people. The Jews have been kicked around a LOT historically, and finally got hip to the fact that they need to be hardasses to protect themselves. I just don't think the US should be funding all their BS.

[loveconstitution1789]

Same. I dont really care what Israel does, I just dont want the USA to pay for it and I refuse to call Israel a Democratic state.

[colorblindkid]

In this case, these people very clearly crossed the border, though, unless there are still some leftover non-citizens from 150 years ago.

[vek]

Israel was not founded 150 years ago?

Also, I don't believe they grant citizenship to all people there, even if born there.

Our modern version of birthright citizenship for ALL people is a very odd and new idea of citizenship. In most other societies it was not automatic for everybody. Like Rome where you had to be a proper Roman to be born into it (even from only certain classes IIRC during certain periods), or could earn it through military service or other methods. They knew they didn't want any rabble that was popping out babies on their land voting in their elections!

[DiegoF]

That was early Rome. It expanded citizenship further and further in its early history until it encompassed everyone within its borders, and remained there until its fall--the overwhelming portion of its very, very long history.

Birthright citizenship is the original English law, in place there from square one. Its revocation in the UK (and even more recently, Ireland) is the recent innovation. At this point it is a Western Hemisphere thing, as the non-British realms over here had borrowed the concept right away because they found it a very convenient standard for a settler society to operate under.

[vek]

I already knew all of that nuance, but wasn't trying to write a novel. That said, I would use all of that of an example of how it can be a good OR bad idea, depending on time and place. The Romans probably didn't do themselves any favors allowing Germanic barbarians to vote.

And the reason it made sense in dark ages England, is because people weren't gallivanting all over the world by the millions at the time. With mass movement of people from all over the world, it changes the real world implications drastically. The US is no longer an unsettled country. We don't need MORE people. More people is not really a positive... GDP per capita is what makes a country successful and nice to live in.

Allowing in endless millions of unskilled people who cannot possibly improve GDP per capita, WILL NOT make the country wealthier in any meaningful way.

[loveconstitution1789]

Israel does not allow non-Israeli residents to fully vote in all elections.

Haaretz

Since Israel does not have a written Constitution, rights are subject to the Israeli version of their Legislature.

[sarcasmic]

Sounds like a very real threat to democracy is these furriners are allowed to vote. I mean, they'll like sign up in droves and stuff, you know?

[Alcoholu Akbar]

Nobody gives a shit about school board elections.

[Inigo Montoya]

They don't until you have school boards banning "To Kill a Mockingbird" or worrying that Harry Potter books could promote satanism. In those cases, I would welcome anyone and everyone to vote those bums out.

(Sorry for calling them bums. The average bum is probably far more bright than these school-rulers.)

[chemjeff radical individualist]

When a schoolboard votes to mandate a highschool's bathrooms are transgender-friendly, I'm sure you'll be singing the same tune. Right?

[loveconstitution1789]

Stop using schools and kids to cater to mentally disturbed trans people.

[Alcoholu Akbar]

What are you even talking about? It's pretty obvious the reason nobody registered is because nobody cares.

[DiegoF]

Perhaps they did not fall for the bougie-prog theater of "caring about the oppressed." An interesting detail of the article is that one Supervisor--presumably the only one actually sincere in caring about the actual human beings in question--proposed to also spend half a mil to warn the illegals, correctly, that ICE might be watching and they might endanger themselves by registering. She was swiftly shot down, of course, by those for whom these poor oppressed brown bodies were little more than a vote and a virtue signal. Looks like they may have had other priorities, and didn't want to risk everything they have for a civic ritual that isn't even worth it, from a self-interest point of view, for those who risk nothing.

In any case, the illegals do not seem particularly interested in laying their brown bodies on the line to be good little pawns in the progs' chess game. It looks like the other half of the strategy--spending money to tell gun owners, falsely in this case of course, that turning out to vote endangers their hunting privileges--will have to be implemented. Which, as most of you know by now, is exactly what the North Dakota Democratic Party just did.

[Miter Broller]

San Francisco, always just one piece of legislation away from Utopia! Their work is never done.

[General_Tso]

Their free range, locally sourced, fair trade fertilizer business is just getting off the ground (or not).

It just needs some gub'mint investment to really see it bear fruit.

[Fist of Etiquette]

This year, the city spent about $310,000 trying to register non-citizens to vote. They signed up exactly 49.

Ingenious, San Fran. Get illegals to put themselves into a government database by pretending to care. The president should hire whoever thought this up to develop more traps for ICE!

[Dan_GerO]

So, 49 for $310,000 or $6,326.53 each...More than they 'pay in taxes'? or less than they collect in benefits...?

[Mickey Rat]

A nefarious case of voter suppression.

[Alcoholu Akbar]

It's almost cute how wide open they left themselves to, "If you vote you may lose your out of state hunting license, but if you don't you may lose your Second Amendment. ?\_(?)_/?"

[DiegoF]

LOL the article comments seem to have been entirely by the last handful of sane people left in San Francisco. I think they are all Sevo's socks.

I think it is ridiculous to allow any aliens to vote, let alone specifically illegal ones as is the plan here. And, for that matter, I have never seen the moral importance (or even desirability) of encouraging anyone to vote, let alone confiscating loads of taxpayer money to do so. So maybe it's silly for me to say that it seems especially insane to combine the two.

So you want to pass a law that says, look, if you are a foreigner, and unlike any Joe Non-American, you may technically not be an American, but you feel particularly passionate, particularly invested, in the happenings of this country, maybe we should not deny your civic-minded self that just because you technically lack the piece of paper that says you're technically American. But no, apparently we are spending money trying to dragoon everyone who might be passing through the place into influencing our elections. Maybe you're a backpacking student, or someone just trying to make some money to send back to your family you'll return to. No matter. I repeat, there is a special program, with the bill charged to Sevo and every other San Franciscan, specifically designed to get illegals and other aliens who do not want to to vote!

[DiegoF]

...It would indeed be amusing if the Great Demographic Plan for the Democratic Party turned out to be a big bust anyway. Perhaps the illegals, despite their conviction that they have a right to be here and that the law does not apply to them, do have more moral honesty than the average member of my party.

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

I think the progs will be #metoo'ing the illegals to get them deported when the finally realize Latin Catholics aren't friendly to roe v wade.

[vek]

Honestly, the way we do out voting is pretty whack.

There are a LOT of tweaks we could make that would be entirely reasonable. Minimum age limit of 25 or 30... Because people get slightly less stupid as they age.

Only people BORN in this country, that are also citizens (because we shouldn't have birthright citizenship)... Because children of immigrants will be at least somewhat more properly raised in American traditions, what few of them are still left.

Hell, a history and civics test even! Because people who don't know what year we declared independence, or the 3 branches of government, SHOULD NOT BE VOTING.

And plenty of others too.

Universal suffrage is a horrible idea frankly. And the history of the USA since we have expanded, and expanded voting simply shows this to be true. What a good Democratic Republic needs it the correct people voting, as in people who aren't morons and blow it cases. There are many tweaks we could make to do this, and I'd be happy with any small changes in such directions.

[Jerryskids]

Why spend a bunch of money trying to encourage illegal immigrants to vote? Just threaten to arrest them and detain them for ICE if they don't vote. Or hell, just estimate the number of illegal immigrants in San Fran, assume they're all going to vote for the most leftist Democrat on the ballot and add that number of votes into the total. In fact, why bother going through the charade of an election when you already know who's going to be announced as the winner anyways?

[Longtobefree]

That would have been Hillary's choice - - - - - - -

[BigT]

49 too many!

[loveconstitution1789]

They are already signed up under their fake identity names.

[SQRLSY One]

$6,326 spent per each alien vote garnered...

MAYBE, just MAYBE, there were EXTREMELY few illegal sub-humans willing to put themselves on the rolls? "Jose Blose, Illegal Sub-Human, lives at 3,948 TardlyWhumps Way, Apartment B, and has voted", if'n the laws should ever change, regarding the use of this information, or an illegal sub-humans-hating ICE agent should want to hack-and-crack these rolls and find you."

If YOU were an illegal sub-human, would YOU sign up for that?

[Quo Usque Tandem]

In a place like Frisco, it's the good intention that counts. I'm pretty sure those who pushed this agenda are quite proud of spending $6,236.50 per non citizen. I mean how can you possibly put a price on "doing the right thing?"

I suspect they feel the same way about teiri $13 million dollar per mile bike paths.

As for school boards, "God created idiots; this was for practice, Then he made school boards."

Samuel Clemens

[loveconstitution1789]

US Constitution, Article I, Section 4.

The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

Once Commifornia gets to allowing illegals to vote in Congressional elections, Congress gets a say.

[markm23]

This is registration only for school board elections, so the federal government has no say - until someone gets "careless" and hands out the full ballot to people with just the school board registration. That's when the feds get the opportunity to toss some Commifornia officials into Leavenworth, if only they would use it...

There's nothing new about states (including their local governments) allowing immigrants without citizenship to vote in state and local elections. Each state gets to set it's own voter requirements, provided they aren't stricter than the standards set in the 14th, 15th, and later Amendments. In the 19th Century, several states allowed all male residents to vote, including immigrants (who weren't "illegal" because there were no federal laws restricting immigration). In some states, local governments may allow property owners who are not residents to vote in the local elections, and others tax that property without representation. A few states allowed women or 18-year-olds to vote before the Amendments making that nationwide. The only thing different now is that there's some reason to believe that the real intention is to allow and encourage those registered for a very local election to illegally vote in all elections.

And that leftist politicians are so stupid that they think that Latino illegals (who often don't care if their kids get _any_ education) would care about a school board election enough to put themselves on a government list...

[loveconstitution1789]

As I said, once they try this for Congressional elections then Congress would get a say.

[GryFalcon]

During the Holocaust, government officials used lists like this to find people so that they could kill them. Today, ICE uses lists like this to find illegal immigrants to deport them. For some strange reason, knowing a bit about history, many people are reluctant to put themselves on government lists.

This is one of the very controversial points about gun registry. If you were a dictator who seized control of a country, wouldn't it be very handy to have access to a list of all gun owners?

[vek]

The fact that they even wanted to do this just shows how insane these people are... They'll probably be pushing to do this in Seattle next. UGH.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

What illegal alien would present themselves to the government to be registered to vote? If I'm an illegal alien, and I want to vote, I'll just go do it quietly.

[macsnafu]

It's obviously a trick so that the Trumpsters can round up the illegal aliens and ship them back across the border!
But seriously, why do you want illegal immigrants to be able to vote?

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