Eligible citizens can register and vote in one jurisdiction for federal elections. However, College Park, Hyattsville, Mount Rainier, Takoma Park, Riverdale, and several smaller Maryland towns have extended that privilege to noncitizens.

Now, the people who call Brentwood home ask for the same: for Mayor Teminio-Lopez and the Brentwood Council to expand the vote to noncitizens. We as nonresident families live and work in the city just as other families do. Our children learn beside other children in the same classrooms. We pay taxes just like others do. And we want the right to vote locally.

To vote in city elections, CASA supports the following:

• Noncitizens should be city residents, at least 18 by the date of the next city election and not registered to vote elsewhere.
• They should ineligible if they are in prison for a felony, unable to communicate a desire to vote or have been convicted of buying or selling votes.

Help us send a message that Brentwood is a welcoming community for all residents, regardless of legal status.