AGENDA: 1/11/2022
ITEM: 3.4
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND
CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Councilmember Magdalena
Carrasco
Councilmember Sylvia Arenas
SUBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: 1/7/22
APPROVED DATE: 1/7/22
SUBJE
CT: Additional Measures and Charter Amendments related to Voting & Elections that improve accountability, representation, and inclusion.
RECOMMENDATION
1. Accept the memorandum from Mayor Liccardo, Councilmember Jones, Jimenez, Cohen and Foley.
2. Direct the City Clerk, City Manager, and City Attorney to add the following additional Charter Review recommendations to the special study session:
a. Amending City Charter Section 1602 Election Procedure to:
i. Extend municipal voting rights to all residents of the City of San José. b. Amending City Charter Section 1600. Municipal Elections to :
i. Move odd-numbered districts to align with Presidential Election Cycles ii. Move even-numbered districts to align with Gubernatorial Election Cycles
3. Direct the Office of the City Clerk to work with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters to determine the systems needed to support the extension of municipal voting rights to all residents of the City of San José.
BACKGROUND
We want to sincerely thank the Charter Review Commission for their incredible dedication throughout the year, taking on this transformative work that will affect our city for decades to come. Their recommendations and analysis are well received. Additionally, we appreciate all the varied and insightful speakers brought in by the Commission that helped lead intelligent conversations. Likewise, we want to thank the public who added their perspective through public comment; the engagement and dedication from everyone are truly exemplary.
The proposed recommendations regarding voting and elections do a great job at adding value to the vote. Working in the spirit of the charter review’s desire and task to improve accountability, representation, and inclusion in voting and elections, there remains a need to add measures that expand the voting rights of those living in the margins and who are most affected by the decisions made by citywide elected positions. Those who reside in the margins – our undocumented immigrant community - have always added to the legacy and growth of San José and should have every right to be part of the democratic process that informs what is done with their taxpayer money. In that same vein, we should continue to seek out actions that will directly translate to a higher voter turn-out for those communities, such as moving odd-numbered districts to align with Presidential Election Cycles and moving even-numbered districts to align with Gubernatorial Election Cycles.
According to County data, Santa Clara County is home to a non-citizen population of 366,567.
Of that number, it is estimated that 208,691 non-US Citizen immigrants hold some form of legal protection such as TPS, DACA, and Legal Permanent Residence. There are 157,876 Santa Clara County residents who are truly undocumented, meaning they have no form of legal protection.
To give a picture of the diversity of our undocumented population, a report done by the Migration Policy Institute shows that Santa Clara County is home to an undocumented population consisting of 3,000 individuals from Korea, 7,000 individuals from Vietnam, 23,000 individuals from India, and 69,000 individuals from Mexico/Central America.
According to New American Economy, it is estimated that in 2018, immigrants in the San José Metro Area - a portion of which are undocumented - brought in $5.3 billion in state and local taxes alone. Federally, the immigrant contribution is $12.9 billion. The cumulative total stands at $18.2 billion in taxes. More so, the economic power that our undocumented immigrant community adds to the California GDP is remarkable. According to a report done by the Center for American Progress, if removed, it is estimated that the GDP in California would fall by $103 billion annually, roughly a 5 percent drop. As shown during the COVID-19 pandemic, our most critical essential workers were our farmworkers, many of whom are undocumented immigrants.
And this is in the background of a USC study, which found that “Latino/a immigrants of working age are 11 times more likely to die from COVID than US-born men and women who are not Latino/a. Put simply; our undocumented immigrant community was those essential workers who risked their lives to allow for others to shelter in place, keep the lights on and keep food on the table.
And these are the same folks that for decades have been taxed without representation and must go out of their way to get their children or anyone with the ability to vote to consider them when casting their ballot. Furthermore, the children of those same essential workers are the next generation of Californians who will take on the responsibility to vote and give voice not only to themselves, but also their parents. We have an opportunity to join a growing list of cities and municipalities that are giving voice to those who have been shut out of participating in decision- making that affects their everyday lives.
For context, during the first 150 years of U.S history, 40 states allowed non-citizens to vote in local, state and federal elections at different points, coming to an end as rampant xenophobia and racism narrowed the scope of voting rights to privilege those in power. Historically, too, the United States Constitution gives States power over voting rights, and currently, no state law in California prohibits non-citizens from voting in local elections. Rather, the California Constitution’s home rule law gives local jurisdictions the power to regulate city elections.
There are currently 14 municipalities across the U.S. that permit non-citizens to vote in local elections. 11 of these municipalities are in Maryland, two in Vermont and one in California.
In 2016, voters in San Francisco approved Proposition N, which permits non-citizen parents of children in public schools to vote in school board elections. Currently, the city of Richmond, California, is directing the city attorney to conduct a sweeping review of the city’s charter along with legal research to determine whether it can allow non-citizens to participate in local elections. Now, New York City Council has approved a bill, Intro 1867, that allows legal permanent residents and those with work authorizations to vote in municipal elections and register as members of political parties, giving voting rights to approximately 900,000 legal non- citizens of New York City. Reflected in these measures is the understanding that when done right, democracy is challenging and even uncomfortable to those content with the status quo.
To inform those who may not know, the costs and time needed to naturalize are a major deterrent. Most legal permanent residents (LPR’s) must be residents in the United States for five years to be eligible for naturalization. The cost of an application is $725. The threat of regulations raising that price further and the average processing time of 11.5 months correlates to a high number of LPR’s never naturalizing. According to the latest available DHS estimates there were 13.1 million legal permanent residents residing in the United States as of January 1, 2013, of whom 8.8 million were eligible to naturalize but did not do so. To further add to this list of pitfalls, USCIS referred 22 percent more naturalization cases to its Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate in FY 2019 than in FY 2018, showing that the lens with which they process applications is becoming arbitrarily more stringent and pointing to xenophobia and racism within their system.
The road to U.S. citizenship is a broken one, and the Federal Government has failed our people.
The system is broken; there is no “line” to wait in. We have seen time and time again that it is up to local jurisdictions to impact change. We improve the quality of life for residents, and it is at the local level that we lead. We are the ultimate safeguard for our folks.
To say that our undocumented immigrant community is our strength is not doing them justice.
They are the foundation upon which we have built our nation and city, and as the tenth-largest city in the United States, we can lead on ensuring representation for them and providing them the same privileges as citizen voters in local San José elections. Likewise, understanding that as a nation we are having a reckoning regarding voting rights, seeing as the national government is grappling with the Voting Rights Act, we have an opportunity to meet the moment, expand representative democracy, and add to the legacy of justice. Ultimately, reflecting on the spirit of being a Sanctuary City emphasizes our commitment to that undocumented, immigrant community that has built and maintained our city through various challenges such as the Great Recession, the racist agenda of President Trump, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
DEFINITIONS:
Municipal election. The term "municipal election" means the designation, nomination and election process for the offices of mayor, city council member, and school board. Municipal elections include all primary, special, general and run-off elections for such offices, and all municipal ballot measures.
Municipal voter. The term "municipal voter" means a person who is not a United States citizen on the date of the election in which they are voting, who has been a resident of the city of San José for 30 consecutive days or longer by the date of such election, who meets all qualifications for registering to vote under the election law, except for possessing United States citizenship, and who has registered to vote with the determined agency.
Municipal voter registration. The term "municipal voter registration" means the method by which the determined agency registers and maintains new municipal voters.
Resident of the City of San José. The term "resident of the City of San José " means a person over the age of 18 who resides within any of the 10 districts of San José, not including county pockets.
The signers of this memorandum have not had, and will not have, any private conversation with any other member of the City Council, or that member’s staff, concerning any action discussed in the memorandum, and that each signer’s staff members have not had, and have been instructed not to have, any such conversation with any other member of the City Council or that member's staff.
Exhibit A – New Americans in San José Metro Area, 2018 Data