City College of San Francisco's noncitizen students may soon have the right to vote in elections for the college's Board of Trustees.
The college's elected officials unanimously voted last Thursday to ask the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to place a measure amending the City Charter on the ballot that would allow noncitizens to vote for the college board.
“Allowing noncitizens enrolled in City College classes the opportunity to vote for their college board would give students a voice in their education and how their school is managed," Board President Alan Wong, who proposed the policy, said in a news release. "It would get students invested in their education and increase participation and involvement."
Wong proposed the policy after the First District Court of Appeal ruled that the California Constitution doesn't prohibit the expansion of voting to noncitizens and Charter Cities such as San Francisco may implement expansion of voting rights to noncitizens for local elections.
The proposed policy calls for all noncitizen City College students enrolled in any classes in the previous or current academic year of an election to be eligible to vote. They must be 18 years or older and residents of the city.
San Francisco and Oakland have passed laws that allow noncitizens to vote. San Francisco allows noncitizen parents to vote in school board elections.
Anne Marie Kristoff
