Winooski studies Charter change to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections

Winooski Deputy Mayor Hal Colston discusses granting all residents a right to vote in municipal elections. Photo by Julia Bailey-Wells.

Winooski stands as the most diverse city in northern New England, a place that has long welcomed new residents of different races and ethnic backgrounds. Yet, many of the city’s residents can’t vote in state or local elections.

A city appointed commission is reviewing the charter to allow all qualified Winooski residents to vote in local elections, regardless of their citizenship status. 

“This would give a voice to our neighbors on local matters that would affect them, their families, and their lives.” said Liz Edsell, the Chair of the Charter Commission. 

“I think personally, as a resident of Winooski, I look around at the people that my kids go to school with and at the people who I share streets with, and it's hard to see that some of us get to make the decisions about how we allocate resources and make decisions and set priorities and some of us don't,” said Jim Duncan, a City Councilor and the liaison to the Commission. 

One member of the Commission has seen first-hand the impacts. Hussein Armuri is a rising senior at Winooski High School and a fairly recent immigrant to the City, arriving in 2.   

“I love Winooski because I’ve known it as a city where everyone is welcome, I want us to be a welcoming city in how we are governed and how we elect people.” He said. 

The Commission is considering changing the charter of the City to allow non-citizens to vote. Such a change would also need to be approved by the Vermont State Legislature. The challenges of becoming a citizen are formidable, Amuri said. Currently it takes a minimum of 3 to 5 years, the application is about $725 and lawyers can be very costly. This change would allow more than 10% of Winooski’s residents who are now barred from voting in local elections a chance to participate, Armuri said. 

However, to qualify, residents would have to be here under a federally sanctioned legal category (such as a green card or a permanent resident visa, etc.) above the age of 18 and reside in Winooski with the intention of staying, Amuri said.  

Hal Colston, the City’s Deputy Mayor said that the proposal would enhance Winooski’s status as a welcoming city. 

“I think that Winooski will be an important example of what it means to be inclusive and to really benefit from the rewards of diversity. When you hear different perspectives and experiences come into the conversation, it can only enrich the conversation, especially for talking about our city, its needs, and developments.” Colston said, “If we’re excluding a part of our community, we're not getting the full truth.” 

The idea of granting all residents a right to vote in municipal elections, said Colston, is not new in America.

“For most of the history of this country, non-citizens were allowed to vote. So we're not doing something out of this world.” Colston said.

Colston recommended that people consider this issue on a personal level. 

“I think people need to imagine what it's like to be in the shoes of someone who works hard, contributes to the community, who does everything right, but they can't vote. How would that feel for you if it were the case?” said Colston. 

Though widely supported, the proposal to allow all residents to vote has drawn some opposition. 

“I've heard some residents who are very concerned about what this means for the sanctity of voting and due process for obtaining voting rights that they're used to. There are strong opinions in both directions.” said Jim Duncan, Council Liaison to the Commission.

As Liaison, Duncan provides information to the commission as needed and makes sure that the commission’s work aligns with the council’s goals and masterplan. 

The Charter Commission is now in the public education phase of the process, Commission Chair Edsell said. The commission will evaluate the feedback, make potential changes to the proposal, and submit a final report to the city council in August, said Edsell. 

Changing the city’s charter will have important implications upon the Winooski school charter as well. 

“The main reason why the school board needs representation among the charter commission is because the Winooski school charter is tightly connected to the Winooski Charter so any voting rules that change in one would impact the other,”  said Dr. Alexander Yin, a member of the Winooski School District Board and liaison to the Charter Commission.

If the motion to change the city’s charter were to pass, it would mean that any resident of Winooski could also run for the school board. “This is important because it makes it a little bit more representative of the populations that are in our school.” Yin said. 

Winooski resident Tucker Dimasi said he feels strongly about his fellow locals’ right to contribute their voices in the city government. 

“It doesn't make sense that we welcome them here, we're taking money from the government to support them, and they don’t have a choice in what happens here.” Dimasi said. “It’s not fair.” 

All of Winooski’s charter commission meetings are open to the public and feedback is encouraged. The next meeting is Tuesday, July 15th from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.