Voters to decide whether to allow noncitizens to vote in California city's elections

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Voters will decide whether Santa Ana — a city of about 310,000 in Orange County that's southeast of Los Angeles — could become the first in California to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections under a ballot measure this November.

It's illegal for people who are not U.S. citizens to vote for president or other federal offices, and there is no indication of widespread voter fraud, though Republicans have turned the specter of immigrants voting illegally in the U.S. into a major flashpoint. They argue that legislation is necessary to protect the sanctity of the vote.

But a growing number of communities across the United States are passing laws allowing residents who aren't U.S. citizens to vote in local elections such as city council and mayoral races. Supporters say it's only fair since they live in the communities and pay taxes.

Other states with municipalities that allow residents without citizenship to vote include Maryland, Vermont, and recently, Washington, D.C., New York City granted local voting rights to noncitizens in 2022, but a state judge struck down the law months later and stopped it from ever going into effect. The city is now in the process of appealing the decision.

“It’s been taxation without representation,” Santa Ana city councilmember Benjamin Vazquez said. “Almost a third of the city doesn’t get a say in how the government is run.”

Residents of Santa Ana who aren’t citizens contribute about $117 million in state and local taxes every year, according to an estimate by the Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice. Many are Mexican and Central American immigrants.

The measure would make 70,000 of them eligible to vote, Vazquez said. Orange County was once a bastion of conservatism, but changing demographics have fueled a shift to the left. Republicans still have firm control, however, in terms of local political power.

Specifics would be worked out if it passes, councilmembers say, but the new voters could include permanent residents, visa holders, refugees and immigrants without legal status.

James Lacy, an attorney and president of the nonprofit U.S. Justice Foundation, filed a lawsuit challenging the language of the ballot measure, saying it was biased in favor of it passing. An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of Lacy and ordered the wording to be changed.

Lacy also sued the San Francisco Unified School District for allowing noncitizen parents to vote in school board elections in 2016. An appeals court judge ultimately ruled that it did not violate the state constitution.

“Citizenship is to be valued, and the crown jewel of citizenship is the right to vote,” Lacy said. He said naturalized citizens have to do certain things, like pledge allegiance to the United States, to earn the right to vote.

Julia Gomez, staff attorney at ACLU of Southern California, said voting rights have expanded and contracted over time based on the political landscape.

Originally, only white men who owned property in the U.S. could vote. In the centuries since, eligibility requirements have changed by state and nationally. And up until 1926, as many as 40 states or territories in the U.S. allowed noncitizens to vote with various residency requirements, Gomez said.

“Our values change over time,” Gomez said. The push for Measure DD in Santa Ana is a “reflection of the fact that, at least communities in Santa Ana are ready to make a value judgment that shows, ‘Yes, we respect our neighbors and we think our neighbors should have a right to vote because they have a stake in this democracy.’”

Both sides of the measure have inundated Santa Ana neighborhoods with flyers.

Eduardo Entimio, 23, said “growing up in Santa Ana and just witnessing” firsthand, the impact immigrants have on the city makes him supportive of the measure.

“Just because they can’t vote (now), doesn’t mean they don’t have an opinion,” Entimio said.

Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua opposes the measure, pointing to the costs associated with implementing noncitizen voting and potential lawsuits for the city.

If it passes, the measure would specifically amend the Santa Ana city charter to mandate that the city council adopt an ordinance allowing “any person who has established residency in the city,” according to an analysis by the city attorney. It would also mean the Santa Ana city clerk would have to run local elections rather than go through Orange County Registrar of Voters, as noncitizens are explicitly prohibited from voting in federal elections.

Republicans have made noncitizen voting a key talking point this election. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly made the unsupported claim that Democrats are encouraging undocumented immigrants to enter the country to vote. He blamed his loss of the popular vote in 2016 on immigrants voting, even though the investigation by the Trump-appointed voting integrity commission did not find any widespread voter fraud. It disbanded without identifying a single case of a noncitizen casting a vote.

The U.S. House passed a proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration in July that did not make it through the Senate. Only five Democrats voted in favor.

Twelve states have pushed back on efforts to allow noncitizen voting by passing laws or adopting constitutional amendments that restrict all voting to U.S. citizens, and eight more states will have the issue up for approval by voters this November.

Miguel Quin, a Mexican immigrant without legal status who came to the U.S. when he was 5, said that as a longtime resident of Santa Ana, he would like to have his voice heard.

“I've been working two jobs for most of my life,” said Quin. “We all pay taxes. We all contribute to the city.”