The residents of Brookline, Massachusetts approved a proposal that would allow legal immigrants who are at least 18 years the opportunity to vote in matters that are specific to the town of Brookline.
It is estimated that one in eight Brookline residents is foreign born, and about half of Brookline’s residents are non-citizens. Proposal supporters feel non-citizen residents should have the right to vote on local matters that affect their lives.
Before this measure is effective it needs to pass through the state legislature, which has not been favorable to similar proposals in the past. Previously, Cambridge and Amherst passed similar measures and the state legislature turned them down.