2006 Municipal Elections: Without a voice at the polls

[spmarshall]

Re: >Without a voice at the polls

I think the logic is there to allow immigrants to vote at civic elections, at least since they are a different beast than provincial and federal elections as they allow non-resident property owners to vote, because they pay taxes to the city.

There used to be a time when only property owners could vote, which excluded renters.

 

[Observer Walt]

Re: >Without a voice at the polls

Hope I'm not called prejudiced for saying this, but I think it's reasonable to be a citizen first, before voting, at any election. It takes only three years of residency to become a citizen, so newer immigrants would be "disenfranchised" for at most one election, maybe none. I haven't researched the matter, but do other countries allow non-citizens to vote? (I tend to doubt it)

Having "the vote" is surely one of the most important privileges of citizenship and one of the best motivators for new residents to become citizens.

 

[Darkstar416]

Re: >Without a voice at the polls

I don't think you are prejudiced as a small part of me agrees with you. Still, we are only talking about a change on the municipal level (which was never as rigid anyway as fed/prov elections). I think extending the vote to landed immigrants could be a real shot in the arm to politics in Toronto. I'm with Miller on this.

Anybody know if the City of Toronto Act would give us the power to do this? Or would we need to wait for a new provincial law?

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

Re: >Without a voice at the polls

^ I think McGuinty's already poured cold water on the idea, and I agree with him.

 

[building babel]

Re: >Without a voice at the polls

Regardless of their ethnicity, landed immigrants who were British subjects could vote in Toronto municipal elections when I immigrated here with my parents in 1970. That state of affairs continued until the 1980's, so I suppose it could be reinstated and expanded to cover all landed immigrants if some bright spark in the appropriate level of government saw it as a vote-getting proposition.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

Re: >Without a voice at the polls

Observer Walt wrote:

Hope I'm not called prejudiced for saying this, but I think it's reasonable to be a citizen first, before voting, at any election.

Yes, that's the way I feel too.

Having "the vote" is surely one of the most important privileges of citizenship and one of the best motivators for new residents to become citizens.

"Having 'the vote'" is certainly viewed as a privilege (and-then-some) by immigrants who come from countries without one.

Darkstar416 wrote:

Anybody know if the City of Toronto Act would give us the power to do this? Or would we need to wait for a new provincial law?

Here is the Municipal Elections Act, 1996

It states:

Qualifications

(2) A person is entitled to be an elector at an election held in a local municipality if, on voting day, he or she,

(a) resides in the local municipality or is the owner or tenant of land there, or the spouse of such owner or tenant;

(b) is a Canadian citizen;

(c) is at least 18 years old; and

(d) is not prohibited from voting under subsection (3) or otherwise by law. 2002, c. 17, Sched. D, s. 5 (2); 2005, c. 5, s. 46 (1).

In there, I checked out how they define "resides":

“owner or tenantâ€, in relation to an election, means a person who is the owner or tenant shown on the assessment roll of land assessed under the Assessment Act and a non-residential tenant of land assessed under the Assessment Act, whether or not the tenant is shown on the assessment roll, but does not include an owner or tenant of land who is entitled to use the land under a time share contract unless the person is entitled to use the land,

(a) on voting day, or

(b) for a period of six weeks or more during the calendar year in which voting day of the election is held; (“propriétaire ou locataireâ€)

Now a quick surf to the The **PTUI** 2001 Municipal Act

Hmmmm....The **PTUI** 2001 Municipal Act defines "resident" as:

“resident†means a person who is a permanent resident or a temporary resident having a permanent dwelling within a geographic area and who is a Canadian citizen and is at least 18 years of age; (“résidentâ€)

Same song second verse. Canadian. 18 years old. Owner/tenant in that municipality.

Here is the Mississauga blurb on who can vote.

"A person is entitled to be an elector if he/she:

is a Canadian citizen and,

is at least 18 years of age and,

resides in the City of Mississauga or is the owner or tenant of land in the City of Mississauga, or a spouse of such a person"

OK. Let's see what the qualifications are to run for a municipal office using Mississauga as an example.

To be a qualified candidate a person must be:

a Canadian citizen

at least 18 years old

a resident in the City of Mississauga or is the owner or tenant of land in the City of Mississauga, or a spouse of such a person

Same song, third verse.

So. To run for council /mayor you must be an Canadian, 18 or older and able fog a mirror in your municipality.

You know when you think about it, does it really matter if landed immigants get the vote? I'm sure the argument against would be something like "What?! Just off the boat?! They don't know our issues!".

Like. Seriously. Not knowing the issues. Has that ever stopped qualified voters from voting?

Signed,
The Mississauga Muse

 

[building babel]

Re: >Without a voice at the polls

Is mikescarborough running this time?

 

[adma]

Re: >Without a voice at the polls

Yup, a rematch vs Glenn DeB. (Willie Reodica's running again, too...)

 

[adma]

Re: >Without a voice at the polls

Driving around those parts (even his own neighbourhood) this afternoon, what impresses me about miketoronto is that he's signless. *No signs*. Unless that's a "green" message, he sure hasn't learned.

Porgy DeTierebieter's definitely headed for reelection...