Should legal non-citizens be allowed to vote?

In the recent Board of Education election, Valerie Ervin won the District Four seat by 12,260 votes. There are roughly 148,000 non-citizens in Montgomery County, enough to have changed the results. Under most U.S. laws, legal non-citizens, or documented immigrants with permanent residence in the U.S., are not allowed to vote. Some want to extend suffrage to resident aliens, while others still believe that only citizens should have the right to vote.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) denied approximately 158,000 applicants citizenship between 1991 and 2000 every year based on the applicants' knowledge of English and civics, moral character and allegiance to the constitution of this country, according to the USCIS web site. Permanent residents who are in the process of becoming naturalized citizens should not be given the right to vote because they have not met government regulations and could potentially be unqualified to handle the responsibility that comes with that right.

The government's naturalization process is in place for a reason: to ensure that every immigrant granted citizenship to this country will be an active, contributing member of society. Naturalized citizens immigrate to the U.S. from foreign countries that have unique cultures, ideals and political systems that are often different from those in the U.S. Before becoming citizens, immigrants must spend at least five years learning about American culture, customs and society. Foreign-born residents must have an understanding of U.S. society and culture to be able to contribute to the selection of a leader of such a society.

Not only does the naturalization process help immigrants adjust to the American lifestyle, but the English and civics tests, along with other standards of evaluation that must be met to obtain citizenship, help create qualified and informed voters. Immigrants applying for citizenship must prove good moral character with a clean criminal record, the ability to read, write and speak basic English and a basic knowledge of U.S. history and government. If a person cannot read or answer the question, "What is the legislative branch of our government?" than he or she will not be able to make an informed decision about political issues or understand a campaign speech made by a presidential candidate. Most U.S. citizens, however, must take a U.S. government course in high school. Granting legal non-citizens the right to vote before they pass these tests would allow a possible 336,000 Marylanders to vote in an election they know nothing about.

Voting is one of the only rights that separates citizens from legal non-citizens in this country. Permanent residents can find housing and work and even send their children to public school in the U.S.. If voting rights are granted to individuals in the process of naturalization, they will have virtually all the rights of a full-fledged citizen, leaving little to separate them from those that have been citizens.

Voting is the most important right granted to U.S. citizens. The upcoming presidential election promises to be a very heated and close race. The careful scrutiny involved with naturalization ensures that all naturalized citizens can be active and responsible members of society. The 2000 U.S. Census data estimates that 18,565,263 legal non-citizens live in this country—18,565,263 potentially unqualified voters that could make a difference this November.