They came to the United States from El Salvador, Ethiopia and Iran to study, earn money and escape violence. And they all found a home in the country’s capital. They are not U.S. citizens, but they care about the issues in their communities, including education, health care, and affordable housing.
And for the first time, these noncitizen residents (some of whom have lived here for decades and have children who were born here) will have a say in how their communities are run: They are among the District’s more than 500 noncitizen residents have registered. vote and have cast your vote or go to the polls on Tuesday to elect your representatives to the DC Council.
The voters include 310 who registered as Democrats, 169 independents, 28 Republicans and 16 Green Statesmen, said Sarah Graham, spokeswoman for the D.C. Board of Elections.
In this city, which has no voting representative in Congress, leaders have expanded voting rights to noncitizen residents. Non-citizens are eligible to vote if they are at least 18 years old on Election Day, have been residents of DC for at least 30 days before the election, have not been deemed by a court legally incompetent to vote, and do not claim the right to vote. vote in any state, territory or country.
There has been opposition, with critics arguing that the right to vote should be reserved for American citizens. The US House of Representatives introduced a bill last month to block non-citizen voting in DC, although this bill is unlikely to advance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. D.C. Board of Elections workers have also received angry messages from callers objecting to noncitizen voting, said Monica Evans, the office’s executive director.
The noise lawmakers are making in Congress simply raises more awareness that this new right for noncitizens exists, said Abel Amene, an Ethiopian immigrant who last year became the first noncitizen to hold public office in D.C. and who fought for the vote of non-citizens. Abel, a neighborhood advisory commissioner in District 4, who prefers people to call him by his first name because of cultural naming practices, is excited to see how voting will allow noncitizens to participate in local democracy and make hear their voices.
“It’s just one or a few buttons to push,” Abel said, “but it will have huge impacts in the future.”
Non-citizen voters shared with The Washington Post what the right to cast their ballot means to them.
Ana Lemus, 42, came to the District about 15 years ago to escape a bad relationship and widespread gang violence in El Salvador.
Before leaving his country of origin, he decided to exercise his right to vote.
“It’s my duty,” he said in Spanish as his 19-year-old daughter Génesis interpreted. In El Salvador, even when her husband questioned her about where she was going and discouraged her from voting, Ana prepared herself and left the house for the polls. “My vote is my vote.”
Now, Ana will once again cast her vote in the DC elections, along with Génesis, who was 4 years old when she arrived in the United States. Both registered to vote earlier this year.
Genesis said his top priorities in this election are “the skyrocketing cost of living, gender inequality, wealth inequality and police brutality.” And Génesis, a leader in local street vendor advocacy, isn’t satisfied with simply being a voter. His dream, he said, “is to maybe one day run, later when I’m 20, for (neighborhood advisory commissioner) first, and maybe council member afterward.”
Shaghayegh ‘Chris’ Rostampour
A few months ago, Shaghayegh “Chris” Rostampour was researching immigrant voting rights and came across District legislation allowing non-citizens to vote. Rostampour examined the eligibility criteria and realized they qualified.
“I thought, ‘Wow, this is what democracy is like, this is what participatory democracy and direct participation is like, and this is what an inclusive society should be like,'” said Rostampour, a 34-year-old resident of DC’s Ward 2. “I was very excited. And it made me even happier to live where I live.”
Last weekend at the West End Library, Rostampour voted for the first time since the 2017 presidential election in Iran, his home country. Rostampour declined to share who they voted for, but said they were more concerned about issues related to the lack of affordable housing, the high cost of living, pollution and environmental concerns.
“The very act of voting and feeling like I can have a small impact and that I can make a decision, made me feel very empowered,” they said. “It made me feel like I had a voice.”
Rostampour came to the United States on a student visa in 2018 to study conflict resolution at Brandeis University before moving to the District in 2022 to work at a gun control nonprofit. They became involved in political activism with anti-war organizations and submitted their green card application a few months ago.
Rostampour was raised to believe that voting was a civic duty and has been troubled by House lawmakers’ efforts to block noncitizens from voting and language suggesting noncitizens are trying to “interfere” with local elections. And Rostampour is concerned about immigrants who fear that voting could jeopardize their status in this country.
“There is a lot of fear in participating, simply because people are worried about the consequences,” they said. “This is all legal, everything is allowed, but we are still worried about how it could affect us.”
Soledad Miranda has lived in the United States for decades and is used to working hard to support her family and defend her rights.
Miranda, 49, a resident of El Salvador’s District 1, spends weekdays as a cleaner in the Wilson building, which houses the offices of the mayor and city council members. At night and on weekends, she is a street vendor of traditional clothing from her home country.
As a shop steward for your union: Local 32BJ the Service Employees International Union, which represents workers who help maintain about 1,500 office buildings in the region; Miranda was chosen by her colleagues to interview DC Council candidates to help the union gain her endorsement.
What I wanted to know most was how the candidates would improve access to housing and health care. Miranda said she often bumps into council members and candidates in the lobby or hallways of the Wilson Building and takes note of how they treat her and others.
Although he didn’t want to share who he planned to vote for, his union endorsed District 4 Council member Janeese Lewis George and Wendell Felder, former District 7 Democrats chair, who is running for the Council seat in that District. When Miranda casts her vote, she said, she will look for candidates who support immigrants and policies like “temporary protected status,” which she says is the reason she can stay in the country, get a driver’s license and her license. cosmetology. And she will be thinking about her 14-year-old daughter and her future.
“I have lived in this country for 30 years. “I have my daughter who is an American citizen, I pay my taxes, I feel like I have the right to vote,” Miranda said through a translator. “I’m excited. I will have the opportunity to cast my vote, not only myself, but also other people who came here as immigrants and do not need American citizenship to vote.”
Germán Trinidad, 39, has long been active in local politics. Trinidad, who came to D.C. from El Salvador in 2002, has supported efforts to decriminalize street vending and create a path for street vendors to obtain a license. He and his wife sell food and hot drinks on the street in Mount Pleasant.
On Tuesday he will vote in the DC elections.
“I am very happy that they take me into account,” he said through a translator. He wants better infrastructure in the district and is concerned about crime. “(It’s) a big deal, especially because we’re suppliers and we’re outside, so obviously that’s a priority.”
He is proud of the progress street vendors have made in recent years to “be able to sell products peacefully in the city.” For future elections, he hopes to have a stronger list of candidates: “better options, people who will improve our future.”
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Abel Amene, who is pursuing a double major in physics and economics at the University of Maryland, said he is always on the verge of homelessness and sees other immigrants struggling too. But he had never voted DC and had no say in how elected leaders address housing or any other issue, until now in this primary.
“In almost every political decision I make, I always keep in mind the fear I face of becoming homeless again,” said Abel, 38, who came to the United States from Ethiopia as a teenager in 1999. “There is an impact “The real impact that these politicians and these elected officials have about my safety and how safe I feel at home.”
At the end of May, he went to the West End library and voted for the first time in any government election. And while his views as a socialist don’t align perfectly with those of Councilmembers Robert C. White Jr. (D-at-Large) and Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), he voted for them because of their positions on the issue. of housing. .
“I am now 38 years old and this is the first time I have voted in a government election. It was amazing,” she said. “It felt very impactful, like I had a say in something bigger than myself.”
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