Overview
- Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez proposed a ballot measure that would let voters authorize the City Council to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections for mayor, City Council, and the Los Angeles Board of Education.
- The motion has been sent to the City Council’s rules committee for public comment and consideration before any placement on the Nov. 3 ballot.
- Even with voter approval, the change would take effect only after the council passes a follow-up ordinance to rewrite city election rules.
- Supporters, including Councilmembers Ysabel Jurado and Eunisses Hernandez and city attorney candidate Marissa Roy, say long-term residents who pay taxes and have children in public schools deserve a say in local decisions.
- Opponents, such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform and candidate Dylan Kendall, argue it weakens the tie between voting and citizenship and could risk exposing undocumented residents through new voter rolls, and if enacted Los Angeles would be the nation’s largest city with such a policy while federal law continues to bar noncitizens from federal races and leaves local rules to states and cities.