Two Democratic Socialists of America-backed city councilmembers in Los Angeles are pushing a proposal that would allow noncitizens, including illegal immigrants, to vote in local elections. The measure could appear on the city’s November 3 ballot if the full Council approves it.
Hugo Soto-Martinez, a DSA member currently running for reelection, introduced the proposal. It would grant the Council authority to formally extend voting rights to noncitizens. Fellow DSA Councilmember Ysabel Jurado has signed on in support, the Los Angeles Times reports.
If it clears the Council and wins voter approval, Los Angeles would become the largest city in the United States to allow noncitizen voting.
Soto-Martinez has framed the push as a matter of representation for immigrant families who pay taxes and raise children in the city. “Decisions ranging from housing and policing to education are felt most acutely at the local level,” he has argued, “yet not everyone living under those policies has a say.”
The proposal is already bleeding into other city races. Marissa Roy, a city attorney candidate with DSA ties, has backed the plan and publicly stated she would defend it in court if it becomes law. Roy has also drawn attention for backing a moratorium on certain misdemeanor prosecutions in the city.
A handful of California jurisdictions have experimented with noncitizen voting in narrow circumstances. Los Angeles, with a population of nearly 4 million, would dwarf all of them.
The measure is not yet on the ballot. It must first pass through the Council’s rules committee, survive public comment, and win enough votes to move forward before voters get a say.
At the same time, a GOP-backed Voter ID initiative has separately qualified for the November ballot in California. That measure would require voters to present government-issued identification at the polls. Mail-in voters would need to supply the last four digits of a state-issued ID, and election officials would be required to verify registration every time a ballot is cast.
The two measures are on a collision course in November. One would tighten who can vote and require proof of identity. The other would expand the franchise to people who are not U.S. citizens.
