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Non-Citizens Allowed To Vote In San Francisco Board Of Education Elections

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The San Francisco Department of Elections Monday began allowing non-citizens to sign up to vote in Board of Education elections.

The move comes nearly two years after a ballot proposal -- Prop N -- was passed by San Francisco voters to be the first city in California to extend to non-citizens such a privilege.

Chicago, Illinois and Cambridge, Massachusetts, already allow non-citizen residents to vote in school board elections and several municipalities in Maryland allow non-citizen voting in local elections.

Prop. N -- which passed by a vote of 54% to 46% -- would expire after the 2022 school board election unless the Board of Supervisors allows it to continue.

To be eligible to register to vote in the Board of Education election, non-citizens must be residents of San Francisco, at least 18 years old on Election Day, and parents, legal guardians, or caregivers of children under the age of 19 who also reside in San Francisco.

Those who are imprisoned or on parole for conviction of a felony, or currently found by a court to be mentally incompetent to vote, are not eligible.

Applicants may return the completed registration form to the Department of Elections by mail or in person. Once the registration is processed, the Department will mail a Voter Notification Card to the registrant confirming the registration.

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