Winooski residents overwhelmingly approved noncitizen voting on Tuesday. Unofficial results showed the measure passed by a 2-1 ratio with more than 2,000 residents voting in favor.
Voter approval is the first step to allow noncitizens the right to cast ballots on municipal matters. The decision puts in motion a process that could grant more than 600 Winooski residents the right to vote.
The measure, which is a change to the city charter, must be approved by the Legislature before it can become law.
According to Liz Esdell, who leads the city’s Charter Commission, the proposal was first raised in 2018 when city councilors began asking residents about putting “all-resident” voting on the ballot.
“I believe that all-resident voting is a good idea for Winooski,” Esdell said. “Our democracy works best when more people participate. And I think our communities work best when more people participate.”
Not all Winooski voters agreed. Some who opposed the change argued that voting should be the exclusive right of U.S. citizens.
Resident Prashant Singh, who moved to Winooski in 2011 from India, has been fighting for the right to vote. He served on the charter change commission advocating for the measure.
“I want more representation,” said Singh.
Singh has three children in the local public school and in 2017 he helped to get a bus pilot program so schoolchildren wouldn’t have to walk uphill to school on dark and snowy winter days.
“How can you feel like a kid, with wet shoes and wet socks, can study and perform good in the schools?” he said.
The city’s approval of all-resident voting will increase his and others’ civic engagement in Winooski, said Singh, a software engineer.
Noncitizen voting will “help build a stronger community,” he said. Not being able to vote is another factor that separates newcomers, Singh explained. “Once you can vote, you’ll talk to other people, get their thoughts.”
Leading up to Tuesday, 2,500 ballots had already been cast in Winooski in early voting, and by mid-afternoon on Election Day, that number had reached 3,306, surpassing 2016 numbers, which topped out at 3,113. By the end of the day, the unofficial tally was at 3,734. Winooski’s population is 7,300.
There were nine stations in the polling place, and town clerk Carol Barrett said each station was wiped down after every voter. According to Barrett, people were “not really concerned” about the pandemic, although one individual entered without a mask and had to be told that they were a requirement.
Overall, she said, “It has gone very smooth.”
Outside, two volunteers who said they were present as “election defenders” were stationed outside the polls for a shift from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with another crew coming to take over when they left. They said their goal was to ensure voters were not intimidated at the polls.
Some Winooski residents had already been thinking about noncitizen voting leading up to the election.
Tanya Weinert said she and her husband had attended a meeting at City Hall last year to discuss the change, and they supported the measure to expand voting to nonresidents who are in the process of becoming citizens. “They have to follow the rules,” she said, but added, “I want them to have the voice that I have.”
Weinert acknowledged the path to citizenship is often slow, and that this kind of measure would allow an interim solution, so that more people can participate in local democracy. “Yes, we have a diverse community,” she said.
Winooski is home to many New Americans. About 18% of residents were born outside of the United States.
“If you live here, you should have a say in democracy, especially locally,” said Mikayla Savastano, a Winooski resident who voted in support of the measure. Savastano pointed out that residents are taxpayers, too.
For other residents, the ballot item was new. In-person outreach about the issue had been limited this year due to the pandemic.
Lara Dusek said she didn’t know much about non-citizen voting before seeing it on the ballot, but she supported the measure anyway. “If you’re living in our community, I feel you should have a say,” she said, acknowledging that this was an especially important issue in Winooski where “there are a lot of newcomers.”
The two election defender volunteers said they were stationed at Winooski because of the concentrated population of New Americans living in the town.
Some voters spoke out against noncitizen voting. “If you’re not a citizen, you shouldn’t be able to vote,” said Rob Gero, a Trump supporter who voted a straight Republican ticket.
Gero said the decision was a “no brainer” and that allowing a noncitizen to vote would be “stealing a vote.”
Another voter said new arrivals needed more education before participating. “I’m an immigrant, too,” he said. “It was complicated for me to vote in there.” The man, who said he is a Republican, requested anonymity, citing the state’s liberal majority. A state resident for 13 years after moving from Kenya, he opposed the measure initially believing it would include illegal residents, but later said he supported measures to expand voting to people who are in the country lawfully.
Winooski’s decision follows a similar voter approved initiative in Montpelier in 2018 that allowed for municipal noncitizen voting. However, Montpelier’s efforts stalled in the Legislature this year when the pandemic response sidelined many issues. It may be reintroduced in next year’s session, at the beginning of 2021.
Winooski will follow a similar process as Montpelier.
Takoma Park, Maryland, has allowed for noncitizen voting. Esdell said the Takoma Park town clerk has been a resource for both Montpelier and Winooski.
In a statement, Winooski Mayor Kristine Lott said that Tuesday’s vote “could bring 600 more residents’ voices to the decision-making table.”