PORTLAND, Maine — Claude Rwaganje pays taxes on his income and taxes on his cars. His children have gone to public schools. He’s interested in the workings of the city he has called home for 13 years.
There’s one vital difference: Rwaganje isn’t a U.S. citizen and isn’t allowed to vote on taxes or on school issues. That may soon change.
Portland residents will vote Nov. 2 on a proposal to give legal residents who are not U.S. citizens the right to vote in local elections, joining places like San Francisco and Chicago that have already loosened the rules or are considering it.
Rwaganje, 40, moved to the U.S. because of political strife in his native Congo and runs a nonprofit that offers financial advice to immigrants.
Denver Post wire services
