My grandparents came to this country as young adults. They got their citizenship after many years of residency. I don't think it would have occurred to them to vote until they were citizens, because they would have had too much to lose. And what, after all, does one gain by voting illegally?
I'm hearing all this blah blah about voter fraud, and now in their inimitable fashion Republicans have to turn even the issue of voter fraud into a whipped up paranoia of racism and nativism.
We're so used to their rants about people voting illegally and "illegal people" voting, we're so used to our reaction of "voter fraud is a non-issue" that we don't stop to think anymore.
Let's just face a blunt fact. It's so obvious it's staring us in the face. What would be the point of voting if you're not a citizen?
Nobody's saying that people are paid to vote. Showing up at the voting booth doesn't get you a lottery ticket. Showing up at the voting booth gives us a voice in our political system, but for anyone who has hopes of one day joining that system, why blow your chances? For what?
It's bad enough in this country to get eligible citizens to vote. Unfortunate as it is, a great mass of people think they have no interest in voting. Wouldn't this be multiplied many times if one were actually ineligible to vote?
Think about it. All I had to do was to put myself in my grandparents' shoes for one minute and it became obvious to me. They wanted citizenship. They wanted it badly. They knew if they voted before they became citizens they'd blow it. They'd lose everything they had been striving for, working for, dreaming for. And if they did vote illegally? Whatever for? What would it get them?
The same could be said for undocumented workers. Why on earth would one risk discovery by showing up at a polling place?
Can I get an answer as to what the incentive would be for a non-citizen to vote, when there are way too many citizens who see no point in it?
Can I get an answer as to why Republicans can keep shoveling this bull into the arena?