The League of Women Voters of Vermont (LWVVT) supports the inclusion of non-U.S. citizens residing in Vermont municipalities, in some of our local democratic processes, at municipal, school district, and special district level (i.e., solid waste, water, etc.)
Approved on June 24, 2023 as a concurrence with the League of Women Voters of Boulder County position statement on Non-U.S. Citizen Rights (2020).
Position History
According to US Code Title 18, section 611: Voting by Aliens, noncitizens are authorized to vote in local elections if allowed by state law. In Vermont, three cities approved city charter amendments authorizing noncitizen resident voting in local elections: Winooski (All Resident Voting) in 2020, Montpelier in 2021, and Burlington (All Legal Resident Voting) in 2023.
Being true to its mission of empowering voters, LWVVT formed the Non-U.S. Citizen Voting Committee in January 2022 to research the issue of noncitizen voting. We discovered that LWV of Boulder County, Colorado had been studying noncitizen rights since 2013 and reached out to them. The LWVVT Committee worked on this issue for more than a year, conducting presentations and forums before proposing a position statement, based on the study conducted by LWV of Boulder County.
LWVVT emphasizes the importance of supporting non-U.S. citizen voting in Vermont cities that allow it while we continue the longstanding LWV practice of encouraging informed participation in public matters. We will register non-U.S. citizens in Vermont cities that have completed the process of securing voting rights and build voter confidence through education.
LWVVT Concurrence Statement
The League of Women Voters of Vermont (LWVVT) supports the inclusion of non-U.S. citizens residing in Vermont municipalities, in some of our local democratic processes, at municipal, school district, and special district level (i.e., solid waste, water, etc.)
First, the LWVVT supports non-U.S. citizen voting rights, limited to the municipality where they reside, for non-U.S. citizens with legal immigration status, such as:
- Legal permanent residents (green card holders),
- Immigrants granted asylum,
- Non-U.S. citizens who have applied for citizenship, or
- DACA recipients (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and TPS holders (Temporary Protective Status).
Each immigration status carries a length of U.S. residency requirement, which meets or exceeds the state’s residence requirements for voting. If these non-U.S. citizens also meet the state’s age requirement and take the voter’s oath, they should be eligible to vote in local candidate elections and on local ballot proposals with and without fiscal impact.
Second, we support allowing non-U.S. citizen residents who meet one of the four criteria above for voting in a local election to participate in the following additional ways: being appointed to boards and commissions; serving on non-Federal juries; and running for local elected office.
LWVVT Action and Support
Specifically, the LWVVT will now monitor non-U.S. citizen voting in Vermont and across the country, give educational presentations, register non-U.S. citizens in Vermont cities that have completed the process of securing immigrant voting rights, and assist individuals and groups interested in pursuing non-U.S. citizen voting for their communities.