Non-citizen Chinese immigrant is sworn in on San Francisco’s Election Commission
A Chinese immigrant has been sworn in to serve on San Francisco’s Election Commission despite her lack of US citizenship, raising national security concerns as one US senator warns that Chinese President Xi Jinping is playing the “long game.”
Kelly Wong, an immigration rights activist who came to the US in 2019 from Hong Kong for graduate studies, was unanimously appointed by San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors to the city’s Elections Commission on Feb. 14.
She is believed to be the first non-citizen ever to sit on the commission, after California voters approved a measure in 2020 to eliminate the citizenship requirement to sit on San Francisco boards.
“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,’” Wong told KQED following her historic appointment last week.
“If I can do it, you can do it,” she said.
In her new position, Wong — who cannot legally vote — is one of seven people who will oversee and implement policy for the Department of Election.
She will oversee voter registrations, vote-by-mail ballots, voting locations and election observations.
“This appointment is a milestone for all immigrant and marginalized communities throughout San Francisco,” Wong wrote on her now-deleted LinkedIn profile last Thursday, according to the Epoch Times.
“Representation matters: thousands of immigrants living in the city hold stakes in politics, and there is no better way to have us be represented than to serve in leadership positions.
“I am deeply committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of immigration status, has a seat at the table in shaping the future of our city,” she added.
Wong said she hopes to increase voting engagement among immigrants and those who do not speak English.
“Even though I’m fluent in English, I still encounter challenges in navigating a new system, let alone participating in political conversation and activities,” she told KQED.
But because the position is unpaid, Wong is also planning to continue her work with the advocacy group Chinese for Affirmative Action — a non-governmental organization founded in 1969.
Its mission is to protect the “civil and political rights of Chinese Americans and to advance multiracial democracy in the United States,” according to its website.
The group was previously responsible for lobbying the government to change the law to allow non-citizens to vote in San Francisco school board elections if their children attend a school in the district.
But Wong’s appointment to the elections board has some around the country concerned about China’s increasing influence, with Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) warning that President Xi Jinping is playing the “long game” after 452 Chinese migrants were caught at the southern border in just the past three days, per Customs and Border Protection data.
“Look, they’re flooding our borders with fentanyl, killing Americans,” he told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday.
“China is playing the long game here,” the Republican said, arguing that the Chinese have “completely populated the spaces that people make decisions, including the White House.
“This is how civilizations, you know, ultimately lose their way — and the idea of having an open border where anybody can come from anywhere without asking any questions is nuts,” Schmitt continued.
“We need to do everything we can right now to sort of hold Mayorkas responsible and [President] Joe Biden responsible,” he said, referring to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom the House of Representatives impeached last week.
The Post has reached out to the Elections Commission and the San Francisco Mayor’s Office for comment.
