Council President Damali Vidot introduced a measure that appeared on the Feb. 25 Council agenda, though it garnered little notice at the regular meeting. The proposal warranted discussion, according to Vidot, yet she encountered an altogether different response.
At its core, the measure sought to examine whether legally present non-citizens could participate in municipal elections.
Instead of dialogue, Vidot received silence followed by rejection at the ballot. “We have people invested in our community,
who own homes, have kids in the schools and own businesses, but because they
are citizens, they can’t vote in our elections,” she said. “Why not have a
conversation about allowing them to vote? The fact my colleagues didn’t want to
at least have a conversation is a travesty.”
A 5-6 vote defeated the motion. Supporting it were Vidot alongside Councillors Judith Garcia, Yamir Rodriguez, Enio Lopez and Giovanni Recupero. Opposed were Councillor Roy Avellaneda, Calvin Brown, Joe Perlatonda, Luis Tejada, Leo Robinson and Bob Bishop.
Despite this setback, Vidot has committed to revisiting the issue. “I don’t understand why we couldn’t
entertain this, to allow people to be part of the civic process,” she said. “At
the minimum, I thought we could have a conversation. If I had known there would
be this reaction from my colleagues, I would have organized before. I have
every intention of bringing it back again in 90 days. We can’t be in the habit
of saying ‘no’ without talking about it.”
Precedent exists elsewhere in Massachusetts. Cambridge and Brookline have already voted to permit non-citizen voting. Advancing such a measure in Chelsea would require a home rule petition submitted to the State Legislature, along with subsequent legislative approval from the State House.
Notably, the Chelsea proposal would restrict non-citizen voting to municipal elections only, excluding any participation in state or federal contests.