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WASHINGTON — A scattered movement growing across the country would buck decades of conventional wisdom and allow non-citizens the right to vote in local elections, a move that proponents say would give immigrants the ability to directly impact government in their communities. 'We’re a stronger society as a whole if we have a good quality of life and everyone participates,' said Ron Hayduk, political science professor at the City College of New York and a supporter of the movement. 'There is a greater likelihood that our representatives will be responsible to everybody,' Hayduk told. 'This is a mechanism to make sure they are held accountable.' Critics, however, dismiss the idea. They say the right to vote is a sacred privilege and responsibility of the American citizen. Giving voting rights (search) to non-Americans 'just fundamentally cheapens citizenship,' said Steven Camerota, director of the Center for Immigration Studies (search). Currently, five municipalities in Maryland, including Takoma Park, a suburb of the nation’s capital, allow non-citizens a vote in local elections. The city of Chicago also allows non-citizens access to board of education elections. Efforts are also under way across the country to change local and state laws. Activists in cities like Hartford, Conn.; Washington, D.C; San Francisco, Calif.; and Los Angeles, Calif.; and in states such as Colorado, New Jersey, North Carolina and Texas, have been pushing for policy changes for some time, said Hayduk. The municipalities of Amherst, Mass., and Cambridge, Mass., actually passed laws in 2003 opening access to voting to immigrants, but they have yet to get the state approval to move them forward. Possibly the biggest effort is in New York City, where folks like Hayduk are rallying behind legislation that would open up local elections to at least one million legal immigrants there. 'It’s really frustrating to be part of a community and be told that you
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