Multnomah County in Oregon shot down a measure that would have given illegal immigrants the right to vote in the state.
QUICK FACTS:
- Multnomah County, home to the extremely liberal Portland, Oregon, has rejected a measure that would give noncitizens the right to vote in elections.
- As of Wednesday, more than 58 percent of voters in the county rejected the initiative, while 44 percent supported passing the bill into law.
- If passed, it was unclear how the initiative would have impacted green card holders, visa workers, and illegal aliens’ right to vote as the state’s constitution only allows American citizens the ability to do so.
- County officials admitted they did not know if the move was legal, a factor that possibly led to voters’ rejection of the idea, according to Oregon Live.
REPUBLICAN SECRETARY OF STATE FRANK LAROSE OF OHIO ON WHY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN THE ACCESS TO VOTE:
“It’s a bad idea to callously give away the right to vote to people that haven’t earned it,” LaRose said at a news conference last month. “I think that citizenship has value, citizenship has status. So many of our ancestors worked so hard to earn that citizenship.”
BACKGROUND:
- The objection to the measure comes amid Washington, DC becoming the latest Democrat stronghold aiming to give foreign nationals and illegal immigrants the right to vote.
- In New York City, Democrats tried to give noncitizens the right to vote but were later shut down by the New York Supreme Court.
- Republicans in Ohio promoted a measure in the midterms that would deny illegal aliens the ability to vote in local elections.
