Sadly, in California, the State Legislature approving legislation devaluing citizenship qualifies as a “dog-bites-man” news story. So, news that the State Senate followed the lead of the Assembly in approving a measure authorizing non-citizens to man election sites hardly raised an eyebrow.
The justification for the Senate’s 22-10 party line vote, however, qualifies as a “dog-ate-my-homework” story. Sen. Norma Torres (D-Pomona), who shepherded the bill through the chamber, argued that allowing non-citizens to serve as poll workers is necessary to help California’s 2.6 million limited English voters cast their ballots. “These individuals have an absolute right to make fully informed voting decisions on Election Day,” stated Sen. Torres.
Never mind that these 2.6 million voters allegedly passed an English proficiency exam in order to become citizens. But, in the entire state of California, there aren’t enough bilingual citizens to fill this important civic function? Seriously?