Texas Law Review, Volume 95, Number 6, May 2017 Page: 1,394
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Texas Law Review
legally allowing them to remain within this community indefinitely.4 To
become a permanent resident, an immigrant must first qualify for an
immigrant category, limited to family-based, employment-based, refugee- or
asylum-based, or specific special categories.5 However, because there is a
five-year residency period required for naturalization,6 and the application
period for naturalization can take years more, this Note will advocate for the
extension of voting rights in state and local elections to lawfully admitted
permanent residents living in the United States.
Permanent residents do not have a direct effect on election outcomes
through voting, even when the result of an election directly affects them,
making them "especially vulnerable to exploitation by the majority. ' Many
arguments against noncitizen voting focus on the idea that aliens are not a
part of the political community simply because they are not citizens.8
However, permanent residents are a part of the political community, distinct
from other noncitizens, particularly because they have completed the legal
process to remain in this country on the path to citizenship and generally have
much stronger ties to the community.9 Some critics argue that permanent
residents' rights are already protected and that permanent residents do not
need to vote because they have at least some representation in the political
system.10 But virtual representation does not necessarily account for
permanent residents' interests, especially when legislators have no reason to
listen to those who cannot vote."
Specifically because they are a part of this community-on their way to
becoming full citizens and affected by government policies in the same ways
as citizens-permanent residents should be granted the right to vote. Voting
is a 'fundamental matter in a free and democratic society' because it 'is
preservative of other basic civil and political rights. '2 Permanent residents
should be given the right to vote in state and local elections13 because
4. 8 U.S.C. 1255 (2012).
5. Green Card Eligibility, U.S. CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGR. SERVICES (Mar. 30, 2011),
http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/green-card-eligibility
[https://perma.cc/72TL-GLED].
6. 8 U.S.C. 1427(a) (2012).
7. Eric A. Posner & Adrian Vermeule, Emergencies and Democratic Failure, 92 VA. L. REV.
1091, 1138 (2006).
8. See, e.g., Cabell v. Chavez-Salido, 454 U.S. 432,439-40 (1982) ("Self-government, whether
direct or through representatives, begins by defining the scope of the community of the governed
and thus of the governors as well: Aliens are by definition outside of this community.').
9. Posner & Vermeule, supra note 7, at 1143.
10. See, e.g.. id. at 1143-44 (arguing that resident aliens have several ways in which they can
influence their host government and that these methods 'may well be as good as [voting]").
11. See id. at 1143 (acknowledging that "virtual representation' alone is insufficient to protect
a resident alien's interests).
12. Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 561-62 (1964).
13. This Note will not discuss the voting rights of felons or illegal aliens.1394
[Vol. 95:1393
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Texas Law Review Association. Texas Law Review, Volume 95, Number 6, May 2017, periodical, June 2017; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth903368/m1/218/?q=green+energy: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.