San Francisco Appoints First Noncitizen to Serve on Elections Commission

The newest member of the San Francisco Elections Commission, a seven-member civilian body that oversees and creates policy for the city’s Department of Elections, isn’t legally allowed to vote.

Kelly Wong, an immigrant rights advocate, is believed to be the first noncitizen appointed to the commission. At a swearing-in ceremony administered by Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin on Wednesday at San Francisco City Hall, dozens of people gathered to commemorate the occasion.

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“There are always voices inside my head. Like, ‘You can’t do it. You’re not competent. You’re an immigrant. This is not your country.’ That’s not true,” said Wong, who immigrated to the U.S. in 2019 from Hong Kong to pursue graduate studies. “If I can do it, you can do it.”

Wong’s appointment is the result of a 2020 voter-approved measure that removed the citizenship requirement to serve on San Francisco boards, commissions and advisory bodies. {snip}

“I’m very impressed by her commitment to enfranchising people who rarely vote, to educating people about the voting process, and to bring in noncitizens and get them the tools they need as they become citizens,” Peskin said.

Drawing on her lived experience, Wong said she wants to increase engagement among the city’s immigrant and non-English speaking communities. Anyone who has delved into San Francisco’s ballot knows it can be just as confusing for native English speakers to decipher the myriad propositions, their arguments, and the city’s ranked-choice voting system.

“Even though I’m fluent in English, I still encounter challenges in navigating a new system, let alone participating in political conversation and activities,” Wong said in an interview with KQED before Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony.

One of Wong’s priorities is to ensure that voter materials are translated in a way that people can understand – she pointed out, for example, that there isn’t an equivalent term for the word “reparations” in Cantonese or Mandarin.

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