Right to Democracy

The right to vote is a right to have power. The meaning of democracy is ‘power of people’ and the history of democracy is a history of recognizing who is ‘people’. At the beginning of democracy ‘people’ were only men of means and status. We went through a long process to re-imagine our understanding of democracy and peoplehood by including men of no means, women, women of no means, Black men, and Black women. Who should be next on the list?

Migrants.

‘Votes for migrants’ isn’t a new idea. Around 45 countries globally allow voting right to non-citizen migrants. The many voices on each side of the issue are focusing on two main counterarguments. Supporters of votes for migrants draw on the founding slogan of US democracy ‘No taxation without representation’. Opponents evoke the value of citizenship.

What is missing is a conversation about democracy are the voices of migrants.

This is the space that the Migrant Vote wants to fill in.

About Teresa

When I left Poland at the age of 22 to become an immigrant worker in Ireland, I had to redefine my whole life. That included my presence in democratic spaces. Building my confidence to occupy democratic spaces as a non-citizen I started building platforms for migrant political participation.

During my work at the Immigrant Council of Ireland, I developed a portfolio of projects aimed at facilitating the political and electoral leadership of migrants. The programs included voter education workshops, political internships for migrants, campaign training, and leadership-building programs.

I dedicated my SCI Fellowship and the Obama Scholars program to studying migrant leadership and electoral participation.

I have written on topics of migration and democracy for The Irish Times, the Irish Independent, the Dublin Inquirer, The Journal, and the Open Democracy.

Praise for the Migrant Vote

‘I saw myself in many things that you mentioned’ - Leina Ibnouf, AKIDWA

‘I can relate to many if not all your points’ - Wael Haffar Habbal, Obama Scholar 2022/2023