San Francisco Begins Registering Non-Citizens To Vote In Local Elections

Wed, 07/18/2018 - 23:50

The San Francisco Department of Elections issued voter registration forms for non-citizens, including undocumented migrants, who are now eligible to vote for members of the SF Board of Education during the November elections, making the city the first in the state to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections.

The measure to allow non-citizens over the age of 18 to vote narrowly passed in 2016 in a vote of 54-46 percent following two failed attempts. In order to cast their ballot, however, non-citizens must also be city residents and have at least one child under the age of 19.

Prospective voters can request a non-citizen voter registration form in-person at the Department of Elections, online or by phone. The deadline to register is October 22nd. Those who miss the deadline can visit the City Hall Voting Center to register and vote under conditional voter registration. -ABC7

“This is no-brainer legislation,” Hillary Ronen, a San Francisco supervisor, told the Chronicle. “Why would we not want our parents invested in the education of their children?”

“We want to give immigrants the right to vote,” Norman Yee, also a county supervisor, told KGO.

RNC member Harmeet Dhillon disagrees with the measure.

“The reason I voted against it is that I think the right to vote is something that goes along with citizenship and should be,” Dhillon told KGO, adding that the school board is already obligated to look out for the interests of all children in the city.

"I don't think that people who have otherwise tenuous ties to San Francisco given their lack of legal residence should be making long term decisions about that structure and process," said Dhillon.

The measure allowing non-citizen voting expires in 2022 unless it is renewed by the board of supervisors.

Boston too?

Last week, the Boston City Council discussed the the idea of voting rights for non-US citizens living in the country legally.

https:// www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-07-18/san-francisco-begins-registering-non-citizens-vote-local-elections

Germany's Dysfunctional Deportation System

Thu, 07/19/2018 - 03:30

Authored by Soeren Kern via The Gatestone Institute,

A court in Gelsenkirchen has ruled that deporting a self-declared Islamist - suspected of being a bodyguard of the former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden - was "grossly unlawful" and ordered him returned to Germany.

The case has cast a spotlight on the dysfunctional nature of Germany's deportation system, as well as on Germany's politicized judicial system, which on human rights grounds is making it nearly impossible to expel illegal migrants, including those who pose security threats.

The 42-year-old failed asylum seeker from Tunisia - identified by German authorities as Sami A., but known in his native country as Sami Aidoudi - had been living in Germany since 1997. Aidoudi, a Salafist Islamist, is believed by German authorities to have spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan before the al-Qaeda attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. Since then, he was under surveillance by German intelligence for propagating Islamist teachings and attempting to radicalize young Muslims. He had "far reaching" relationships with Salafist and jihadist networks, according to an official report leaked to the German newsmagazine, Focus.

Aidoudi's asylum request was rejected in 2007 after allegations surfaced that he had undergone military training at an al-Qaeda jihadi camp in Afghanistan between 1999 and 2000. During his training, he had allegedly worked as a bodyguard for Osama bin-Laden. Aidoudi denied the charges and claimed to have been studying during that time in Karachi, Pakistan.

https:// www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-07-19/germanys-dysfunctional-deportation-system

Sens. Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch: Mens rea reform and the criminal justice reform constellation

by Sen. Chuck Grassley

& Sen. Orrin Hatch

| July 19, 2018 12:00 AM

A growing chorus of voices from across the country and political spectrum are calling out for reforms to our nation’s criminal justice system, and rightfully so. Our criminal justice system should be tough but fair. Criminal behavior should be punished, but the punishment should fit the crime. And those we send to prison should be afforded opportunities to participate in programs that prepare them to rejoin society when they complete their sentences.

As Congress works on bills to improve fairness in sentencing and bolster programs to better prepare inmates for life after prison, we should not ignore the root problem of overcriminalization. There are more than 4,500 criminal laws on the books and more regulatory crimes than the Congressional Research Service was able to count.

And when many of these crimes are drafted without clear criminal intent requirements, it becomes increasingly easy for unsuspecting Americans to be sent to jail for conduct they had no idea was against the law.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/sens-chuck-grassley-and-orrin-hatch-mens-rea-reform-and-the-criminal-justice-reform-constellation