The proposal would not immediately grant voting rights but could give city leaders authority to allow some noncitizens to vote in local and school board elections.
Hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles residents could potentially benefit if voters approve a measure allowing noncitizens to participate in local elections.
Although the Los Angeles City Council has taken a step toward placing the proposal on the November ballot, the process remains far from final and several key details have yet to be decided.
The measure is part of a broader package of proposed amendments to the City Charter, including changes that would expand the City Council’s authority over the Los Angeles Police Department.
If the proposal ultimately reaches the ballot and is approved by voters, it could affect hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles residents who are not U.S. citizens. However, city officials have not yet determined exactly who would qualify to vote under the new system.
What has been proposed so far is a charter amendment that would give the City Council the authority to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections, including races for mayor, City Council and the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. The measure would not apply to state or federal elections.
While there is no official estimate of how many people could become eligible, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez has argued that the proposal could affect “hundreds of thousands” of noncitizen Angelenos who live, work and pay taxes in the city.
To put that into perspective, Los Angeles is home to nearly 4 million residents. Roughly one-third of the population was born outside the United States. Demographic studies have estimated that several hundred thousand adult residents are not U.S. citizens, including lawful permanent residents, DACA recipients and immigrants with a variety of legal statuses. Still, the proposal does not yet specify which groups would be eligible.
Even if voters approve the measure in November, noncitizens would not automatically gain voting rights. The City Council would still need to pass a separate ordinance establishing eligibility requirements and outlining how the system would work.
Experiences in other cities suggest the impact may be more limited than some expect.
New York City estimated that more than 800,000 residents could become eligible under a similar policy. In San Francisco, where noncitizens are already allowed to vote in school board elections, participation has typically been limited to dozens or hundreds of voters per election.
The proposal was introduced by Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez and approved by the City Council on a 10-5 vote.
“I believe it’s a simple principle that should guide us: If you live in the city, contribute to the city, raise your family in the city and are impacted by the decisions made in the city, you deserve to have a voice in the city,” Soto-Martínez said.
Under the council’s action Wednesday, city attorneys will draft ballot measures covering a range of additional issues, including creating a director of public works position, moving to a two-year budget cycle, establishing a capital infrastructure plan and increasing financial penalties for ethics violations.
The council must still take another vote before any of the measures can appear on the ballot.
One unresolved question is how the proposals will be presented to voters. The City Attorney’s Office recommended this week that the charter revisions be divided into multiple ballot measures rather than grouped together.
If approved by voters this fall, the noncitizen voting measure would authorize the council to adopt an ordinance allowing noncitizen residents of Los Angeles to vote in citywide elections and Los Angeles Unified School District board races.
Councilmembers Tim McOsker, Bob Blumenfield, John Lee, Adrin Nazarian and Monica Rodriguez voted against the proposal.
Rodriguez said the city needs more information about whether Los Angeles County, which administers municipal elections, has the capacity to implement the change. She also raised concerns that, amid ongoing federal immigration enforcement efforts, creating a voter database that includes noncitizens could expose some residents to additional risks.
“Given the dynamics that we have right now, what we’re creating is a list of individuals that could then just be the target of another potential federal administration,” Rodriguez said.
