Now more than ever democracy is the answer.
Let’s build a movement to strengthen our local democracies.
A united New Jersey working class is how we win the things all workers deserve.
Let’s expand the vote to our youth (16 & 17 year olds) and noncitizens for local and school board elections!
1 in 5 residents don’t have a voice in their local community. Let’s change that
From combatting racist environmental, housing, and labor policy, to harmful rhetoric at the top from political leaders, youth and noncitizen voting expansion seeks to deepen our democracy in New Jersey’s international working class cities and towns.
Let’s win the right to vote in local and school board elections for 16 and 17 year olds whose future is at stake, and our noncitizen neighbors with most to lose from an undemocratic federal system.
Racist rhetoric from top to bottom, from Republicans and Democrats, has to end.
Rather than living in fear, we are building a bulwark at the local level, to take on 2025 and unite our neighbors.
Key Facts:
Our noncitizen neighbors and youth pay taxes
They have children in and attend public schools
From 1776 to 1926, non-citizens in as many as forty states exercised their right to vote.
Today, dozens of cities have noncitizen voting, from Maryland to Massachusetts, San Francisco, and D.C.
There are no impediments for expanding voting rights in municipalities in the New Jersey State Constitution
Our cities
Have working class priorities, like housing, healthcare, and education, regardless of citizenship.
The key to winning these things is together, with a united working class.
Not one broken apart by legal status.
We have record-low voter participation in some of our biggest cities.
Let’s deepen our democracy now, as so much is at stake…
Let’s organize for power.
Get Involved
We’re knocking doors, making calls, and connecting neighbors through events to win the democracy we deserve.
Here’s where we’re launching ballot initiatives to enfranchise noncitizens and 16-17 year olds.
Maybe your town could be next?
Register and join an event below to get involved!
Our Points of Unity
We demand that all of our neighbors above the age of 16 have the right to participate in elections and hold the government accountable, regardless of citizenship, immigration or carceral status.
We tie our fight for democratic freedoms to building a society for the entire working class, and we therefore call for the abolition of ICE, stand in opposition to the increasingly militarized carceral state, and embrace the demands of DSA's For Our Rights program.
We uphold the core principles of the Vote Uncommitted Campaign because we support a Free Palestine for our brothers, sisters, and siblings in Palestine.
This is a multilingual and multicultural campaign. We will make our greatest efforts to facilitate communication between those in our group that speak Spanish, English, or any other language to the best of our ability.
This campaign is not an endorsement of any party or candidate, it is a protest of the current undemocratic political system which has failed to allow our noncitizen neighbors to vote in our cities. We will only consider endorsing candidates that have already been endorsed by their respective DSA chapters.
FAQs
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We believe in the American tradition of “no taxation without representation.” Non-citizens pay taxes, so they should have the right to vote. Non-citizens also contribute to New Jersey's local economies, work alongside us, and send their children to our schools. They should have a say in our local government.
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Yes! From the nation’s founding in 1776 until 1924, 33 states allowed non-citizens to vote in local, state and even federal elections. Starting in the early 1900s, though, a few states criminalized it. Over the past 30 years, individual cities have reinstated the right for non-citizens to vote in local elections.
In New Jersey, the state constitution is silent on whether noncitizen voting rights can be expanded at the local level.
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Yes! Currently, non-citizens can vote in local elections in 17 cities, including Washington DC, San Francisco, Oakland, CA, 10 cities in Maryland and 3 in Vermont. In all these cities, noncitizen voting has created a more welcoming atmosphere for immigrants, and made parents more engaged in the academic lives of their kids.
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No. This ballot initiative only allows them to vote in local elections. There are many benefits of citizenship that only citizens can access, like voting in national elections or receiving social security. There is still a strong incentive to go through the citizenship process.
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Young people are allowed to work up to 40 hours per week. They also pay taxes. If we believe in, “no taxation without representation,” then they should have the right to vote and participate in the civic life of New Brunswick. Young people have a particularly strong interest in participating in school board elections, since they attend those schools. Newark, NJ already allows 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local elections.
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No. Peer-reviewed research by Daniel Hart, Markus Wagner and others shows 16- and 17-year-olds are about as mature, informed, concerned and engaged as older voters. As such, they should experience the rights and responsibilities of civic participation.
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Noncitizens and young people have the same needs as anyone else. We all want good schools, affordable housing, healthcare, effective transportation, stable infrastructure, etc. Giving noncitizens the right to vote does not just give them a greater voice in political affairs - it gives you a greater voice.
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You can attend our events, help us canvass our neighbors, and spread the word to your citizen friends to sign our petition!